What did Participants of te Asian Referee Seminar Learn?

On the eve of the SAMBO Championships of Asia that will be held in Ulaanbaatar on May 11-13, the Asian Seminar for SAMBO Referees was given in the capital of Mongolia. During these two days, referees of international categories Alexander Larionov and Islom Adylov were teaching the participants from a number of countries the theoretical parts and assisting them in practice. The following FIAS website story covers the event in more detail.

The majority of the seminar participants were referees from Mongolia. They made a point of using this opportunity for passing the training course of the international level at home. Among his fellow countrymen, Yumursen Amarsanaa, the member of the Mongolian road police, looked especially distinctive due to his uniform.

‘Mongolian referees are lucky enough, to be given such an advanced seminar here in Ulaanbaatar. We’ve got an excellent opportunity to gain unique knowledge and experience from the experts of the highest class,’ he says. ‘This year, we celebrate the 50th anniversary of SAMBO in Mongolia, and a lot of attention is being paid to this sport in this country. It comes as little surprise, though, for our sambists demonstrate one of the better achievements on the international level when compared with all the other kinds of sports popular in this country. Most of the Honoured Coaches and Masters of Sports in Mongolia are sambists.’ 

Yumursen Amarsanaa has a vast experience in refereeing.

‘I was refereeing my first competitions when I still was a student in Irkutsk. Those were the children’s tournaments, and after that I was working at the adult championships of both national and international levels. Now my dream is to act as a referee at the continental championships,’ he said in the interview to the FIAS website. ‘I believe that the main thing in the work of a referee is being honest. Regardless of an athlete’s nationality, a referee should stay impartial at all times. Anyone can err, but it is important to avoid any bias or preconception. A referee should perform his duties in a way that incurs no complaints, then the competitions would turn into a festival for both the participants and the spectators.’

Maria Stella Rosario, Indonesia, is one of those who managed to approve themselves at the practical classes of the seminar and to deserve the praise of the teachers. She says that she feels herself confident on the sambist mat, owing to good training practice.

‘I love SAMBO, and I enjoy participating in the referee seminar, as it gives a wonderful opportunity to check up your knowledge and to get a feedback from more experienced referees,’ remarks Maria Stella Rosario. ‘I started working at the SAMBO competitions in the capacity of referee two years ago, earlier I had the rich experience of refereeing the judo tournaments on the national level. Certainly, these two kinds of sports are pretty close to each other, yet there are still a lot of differences between them. That’s why it is so important to know the rules and subtleties of SAMBO refereeing, for the upshot of fights largely depends on our correct work. A lot should be learned and tried in practice beforehand, to make you a competent SAMBO referee. And I hope that this seminar will help me prepare for my work at the Asian Games coming this year that will feature SAMBO tournament for the first time.’

While this summer SAMBO will debut at the Asian Games in Jakarta, in the recent past it was for the first time included in the program of the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games held in Turkmenistan, where one other girl, Ratnadhipti Shimpi, could successfully cope with her refereeing job. She acts as a scorer. 

‘At the seminar, I instruct its participants how to operate the SAMBO refereeing software. This seminar is an important training session aimed not only at the continental championships but chiefly at the Asian Games in Jakarta,’ she says. ‘I’ve got a vast experience in karate refereeing, as I was employed in a similar technical job there, and I also have kickboxing, muay thai, jujitsu, and of course SAMBO under my belt. When it comes to comparing the SAMBO scoring software with its counterparts in other sports, I can note that it’s user-friendly indeed. Certainly, you can also find out things that might be improved a bit, but as of today, it features a vast number of functions. It’s enough to enter the required data, then to press the corresponding button, and the package will do the rest automatically, including the drawing procedure, a compilation of protocols, and other routine tasks. This is an excellent help, as in many cases it rules out the factor of human error, so it mitigates the risks.’

While the modern technologies are able to facilitate the scoring job, the work of referees on the mat totally depends on the people who do it. Thus, in the course of training, it is of paramount importance not only to learn the crucial theoretical aspects but also to devote as much time as possible to practice. This is explained by Alexander Larionov, one of the seminar’s teachers.

‘Practical training in the course of the seminar is given directly on the mat: the participants try themselves in various roles. We set tasks for the athletes – how to fight, what actions to perform, while the referees ought to judge them. In this process, we ask not only the referees on the mat but also those who watch the fight from aside, and it brings some results, too,’ says Alexander Larionov. ‘If on the first day of the seminar its participants made quite a lot of mistakes and were behaving pretty nervous when working on the mat, then on the following day they performed with more confidence which resulted in a better quality of their refereeing. We can witness a considerable progress, and I believe that all the coming competitions – the continental championships in Mongolia and the Asian Games in Jakarta – will go well.’ 

Following the two-day seminar, the referees passed a technical examination. By its results, the participants are given clearance to work at the 2018 SAMBO Championships of Asia. Those who perform well at this tournament will be granted with the appropriate referee diplomas.

[PHOTO] Asian Sambo Referee Seminar in Mongolia