FIVB President Dr. Ary S. Graça F° said volleyball and beach volleyball will be the showpiece events at the Olympics in Rio
Krakow, Poland, July 15, 2016 – FIVB President Dr. Ary S. Graça F° met with international referees at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games Referee Preparation Seminar during the FIVB Volleyball World League Finals Krakow 2016 on Friday.
President Graça is in Krakow for the FIVB Volleyball World League Finals Krakow 2016 and met on Friday morning the international referees who will officiate at the upcoming Olympic Games.
"We have the opportunity to launch volleyball around the world at the Olympic Games and referees are very important in this process," President Graça said. "This is why we are holding these seminars, to give referees training - just like athletes - ahead of the biggest sporting event in the world.
"The key point is everyone must be ready for the Olympics because volleyball and beach volleyball will be the showpiece events and with the introduction of these seminars, alongside the new technology, such as the challenge system and tablets, the FIVB is taking all the necessary steps to make sure our disciplines are a great success."
FIVB President Dr. Ary S. Graça F° (middle) with FIVB Volleyball World League Finals Krakow 2016 Referee Delegates Mr. José Ramon Perez Vento (left) and Mr. Alexander James Steel
Juraj Mokry (SVK), Nasr Shaaban (EGY), Luis Macias (MEX), Jiang Liu (CHN), Ibrahim Al Naama (QAT), Heike Kraft (GER), Andrey Zenovich (RUS) have been selected to officiate in this year's World League showpiece event with Piotr Dudek (POL) as the reserve referee and all will be heading to Rio.
Every day the referees participate in the sessions as part of the FIVB's preparation program to get the highest level before next month's event in Rio de Janeiro.
Seminars have been held for both volleyball and beach volleyball referees leading up to the Olympics at the FIVB Volleyball World Cup last year, plus the Rio Grand Slam and Hamburg Major for beach volleyball, and World Olympic Qualification Tournaments in Japan and the World Grand Prix G1 Finals.
The seminar held during this week's FIVB Volleyball World League Finals, intends to improve all aspects of the sport as the referees, teams and officials are making their final preparations for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
The World League Finals provide an excellent platform to make the preparations for the 2016 Olympic Games with an equally competitive atmosphere. In Kraków the referees have the opportunity to develop their skills with taking charge of the matches involving six best teams from the World League competition.
The importance of the communication has been pointed out as one of the means to improve the judgment during the match.
At the 2016 Olympic Games the video challenge system, referee headsets and tablets will be in use, improving not only the spectator experience but also assisting in the officiating of matches.