Want to be involved in London 2012?
Want to be part of the ‘Greatest Show on Earth’?
Can you afford to miss out on a once in a lifetime opportunity to be part of Britain’s Sporting event of the century?
You may not be able to compete but you could be a Technical Official; involved as a scorer and/or line judge. With an estimated forty plus scorers/line judges required for each, there will be opportunities in all three forms of the game – Volleyball, Beach Volleyball and Paralympic Sitting Volleyball – but there will be competition for final selection.
The SVA Referees Commission is inviting candidates to apply to join the ‘Olympic / Paralympic Selection Group,’ and to embark on the selection process, a process which is also taking place in the other British Volleyball Federation countries.
So you would like to be involved? What does it really mean?
You could be a current referee, or may be not. You may be a player or a fan, a spectator or a parent but that does not stop you being involved. The door really is wide open – it is up to you. But you should enter this with eyes open. All line judges and scorers will need to commit to this program wholeheartedly:
- You need to be physically fit or be prepared to train – for example, you may need to stand and concentrate for up 3 hours in a noisy, hot, very bright sports arena
- You need to be able to commit to the training and be happy training sometimes on your own initiative
- You need to know you will be expected to be available not just for the Olympics and/or Paralympics but also the ‘test’ events (these could easily be over a week long) during which time you would be away from home and have to have considerable leave from work (the Olympics themselves require four weeks and the Paralympics two)
- You need to have the desire to represent your country at the highest level sporting event in the world…
Are you really interested now? – Have you got what it takes?
How is it going to work?
Once we have completed the initial register, members of the Referees Commission will contact you with information of the kick-off meeting(s), training sessions and more detail about what is expected from you.
You will be required to meet some basic standards, for example you have to know the rules. So, for Volleyball and Paralympic Volleyball you will need to have or to attain as a minimum the Grade 4 Referee qualification, register annually, be willing to undertake Disclosure Scotland checks, have in-date Safeguarding and Protecting Children certification (some training events will involve Junior events) and keep an activity log to show how you have been getting the experience. For Beach you may also need to attain relevant qualifications. You will also need to be aged between 16 – 50 at the date of the tournament in 2012
The Referees Commission is developing a structure for training to bring the group up to the required standard. This could be through clinics, distance learning, as well as competition opportunities. For the most part training will be held in conjunction with tournaments and SVA events. As the Games approach the events will gain in intensity to ensure you are prepared to as high a standard as possible.
The President of FIVB’s Rules of the Game Commission, Sandy Steel, will be guiding and training both the final group and our own tutors. He has trained the Technical Officials for the last three Olympics.
From the initial Scorer and Line Judge Groups, an Elite Group will later be established, based on commitment, and performance. The appointments for the Olympics will be made from members of this group.
What happens next? Register now!
You may already know what you would like to do – but there is no need yet to decide whether it is to be scoring or line judging or indoors or on the beach but you may indicate preference when registering if you wish.
Email to submit your details. Alternatively send your name, address, phone number, e-mail address (if you have one), referee grade (if you are qualified) to the SVA Office at 48, The Pleasance, Edinburgh EH8 9TJ
Please complete by the 23 March 2009 in time for the first round of training sessions.
PLEASE FORWARD TO ANYONE YOU THINK MAY BE INTERESTED!
Thank you for your interest,
SVA Referees Commission