Classification and referee courses to take place in USA

Courses for aspiring wheelchair fencing classifiers and referees will take place in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA, from 11-14 April.

Targeted at officials outside of Europe, but open to everyone, the seminars will take place during the national Championships being run by USA Fencing.

The classification course will be run by International Wheelchair and Amputee Sport (IWAS) Wheelchair Fencing Senior Classifier Marek Podlasinski. The sessions for referees will be led by the Chair of the sport’s Referee Commission Jon Moss.

The classification courses are a recognised route to becoming a national and international classifier. Participants must be certified professional in the fields of physiotherapy or medicine or have a sports science or medical/biological degree. People with a technical knowledge of wheelchair fencing who are no longer involved with the sport at an international level, such as coaches or athletes, are also invited to take part.

The sessions will help trainees to understand classification in wheelchair fencing through a practical approach and explanation of the techniques. This includes watching the classification of athletes and then observing them in competition.

Trainees will then be assessed through a formal written examination and awarded the status of National Accredited Classifier if successful.

For the referee course, IWAS members and wheelchair fencing federations are invited to submit the names of candidates for training and assessment in all three weapons for referee licence B. The training is offered to people without a valid IWAS Wheelchair Fencing referee licence but attendees must have experience as a referee at a national level.

They must also have a good understanding of English.

The classification seminar will take place from 11-13 April and the referee seminar from 12-14 April.

Information about how to apply can be found at IWAS Wheelchair Fencing’s website.

Other training opportunities are available in Asia and Europe in 2019