Young Officials shine at World Championships

Tuesday, 3 February 2009

Two of our Young Officials, Matt Cantell and Stuart Brown (both attended Young Officials courses in Loughborough and Exeter in the summer of 2008), have participated as National Technical Officials at the World Championships First Round in Sheffield, 2 to 4 January 2009.

This prestigious event, held in Britain for the very first time, pitted Great Britain against experienced teams such as Israel and Belarus in the Mens’ competition, with Israel, Montenegro and Portugal facing Great Britain in the Womens’ competition.

Both Stuart and Matt performed magnificently during the competition, having to officiate in some high powered and tense volleyball matches. The speed and power displayed by all teams kept all the technical officials on their toes, even the more experienced officials had to keep their minds focused.

Stuart said: “officiating at the World Championships First Round was such a brilliant experience, it is such a rewarding role that is just as tiring and energetic as playing the game”.

Matt commented: “to walk out with the teams in front of the big crowd was absolutely amazing. When you stand for the National Anthems, you know this is a big deal to be officiating here, especially when it is being filmed to be screened all over the world.”

Matt and Stuart performed excellently, but know they still have progress to make to be in line for one of the most rewarding experiences in an officials career, the Olympic Games. Doing so well at the World Championships so early on in their officiating career proves that they are well on the road to the Olympics.

Since September 2007 our Young Officials’ Project has driven the development of officiating for young people in partnership with nine National Governing Bodies. Twelve new awards have been created specifically targeting 16-19 year olds, and around 1300 young people have been trained and deployed in support of competition.

Click here to find out more about our Young Officials Project

For more information about volleyball officiating and how to get involved, please contact Chris Stott, Referee Development Officer c.stott@volleyballengland.org 01509 631 699.