BISFed held an International Referee course as well as a Basic Classifier course in Guangzhou, China before the BISFed 2019 Guangzhou Boccia Regional Open.
The International Referee course was held over eight (8) days with two days of training, a written examination and 6 days of practical assessment. To be eligible to participate in a course a Referee must have good knowledge of both written and spoken English, have Refereed at least 20 games on the national level within a maximum of the last 3 years, documented by logbook entries and have their application supported by their BISFed member federation.
Thirteen (13) trainees from five (5) different countries attended the course. Those who have passed will be certified as Boccia International Referees category C and will be eligible to perform as international Boccia Referees immediately.
The BISFed Basic Classifier Course is a Two (2) day course, which is an introduction to Classification according to the BISFed Classification Rules. The Basic course consists of a theory and practical component, where participants are able to learn the classification rules and assessments, and apply them on athletes. Where possible, participants are invited to observe a classification panel conduct classification during competition.
Five (5) trainees from three (3) different countries completed the course. A person who has successfully completed the BISFed Accredited Basic Classifier’s Course course can classify at local and National levels unless the Nation has extra guidelines. After gaining experience Nationally (~Two (2) years) classifiers can be put forward to commence international classifier training. More information can be found in the Boccia Classification Rules here.
The course is open to medical classifiers (Doctors and physiotherapists) and Technical classifiers (people with an extensive knowledge of boccia (i.e athletes, coaches or sport assistants) and/or biomechanics (those working in adaptive sports, human movements, etc). Having a knowledge of Boccia, Neurological conditions (eg. Cerebral Palsy) and Non-Neurological conditions (eg. Muscular Dystrophy) is advantageous.
Both the Referee and Classifier courses are conducted in English.
BISFed thanks the organizers for hosting the courses, the participants and trainers Helena Bastos and Pedro Fernandes for the Referee course and Shail Maharaj for the Classifier course.
