For Florin Daniel Lascau, IJF Head Refereeing Director, these gatherings in judogi on the eve of a big competition are crucial, "It is a moment of exchange and analysis that we all need. The referees spend thousands of hours officiating throughout the year. Athletes spend thousands of hours on the tatami doing judo. We need a space where we cross each other's experiences. During these training sessions, we bring everyone's knowledge onto the tatami and we bring the two worlds together. This way we can really see these sessions as a place of exchange that goes in both directions.
As a Referee Commission, we are here to help referees make the right decisions, at the right time. We also need their feedback. We want the referees to feel that they are not alone."
During the exchanges that took place in Olbia, the referees stressed, "Being the man or the woman in black in the middle of the competition area is not always easy. A lot of criticism is focused on us, because it's always easier to criticise refereeing than other less visible things, but we have to make fast and certain decisions, no matter what. Yet we are human beings and therefore we have emotions, like everyone else. All the work we do on a daily basis and particularly during these practical sessions is to dissect each decision so that we are always sure of what we do and can decide accordingly."
Roland Poiger is one of the referees who will officiate throughout the week in Italy. According to him these judo sessions are important in more than one way, "Here we are the referees and we exchange with the Referee Commission and the IJF experts, but when I go home to Austria, I become the Referee Commission and I work with the national referees. Again it is a matter of ongoing interaction."
For Tonino Chyurlia, Secretary of the IJF Refereeing Commission, self-confidence is the key, "By training together we instill confidence in oneself and in one's decisions. The referees must have confidence in themselves and the athletes and the coaches must feel it that way. It is important to avoid negative discussions."
It may sound trivial, but if athletes are subject to stress, so are referees, "You know when you step on the tatami, for a world or Olympic final as well as at the Paralympic Games, you know your duty. It is not trivial. You have a great responsibility and often the outside observers do not measure it," explains Ioana Babiuc, present on the international circuit for many years.
Roberta Chyurlia, present this summer in Tokyo during the Olympic Games says, "We must do everything to reduce the distance between coaches, athletes and referees, while maintaining a clear line between the roles of each. We must earn respect from each group and always show the same to m others. To gain respect, we as referees have to feel judo, hence the need to be on the tatami in judogi and to actually do judo."
Beyond words, this is indeed what is most important: sharing impressions and sensations, so that once the referees put on their black suits, they can feel what is happening in front of their eyes. "In judo, we have a huge chance. Our referees are all judoka. They all sweated on the tatami. Some were great champions, others are coaches in their country or teachers in their respective clubs. They know our sport. We just have to keep working together to optimise all of this," says Florin Daniel Lascau.
Veli-Matti Karinkanta, Finnish Olympic referee, is aware of this, "We all started judo as a hobby and then sometimes moved into high level sport. We are all first and foremost passionate about the sport. Today it is our job. We travel around the world to officiate the biggest competitions. We have to really feel Judo. There is nothing like practising it over and over again."
It comes back to that question of sensations so dear to any judoka, "Anyone can read the rules and know them theoretically but if you don't practise, how can you want to be able to judge an action when it takes place in front of your eyes, whatever theoretical expert you may be? Judoka must understand what our role is and we must understand what they are doing," explains Mariano Dos Santos.
In the end, the referees are the people closest to the athletes. They are at the heart of the action. They have a privileged point of view on a judo match. To help them, video refereeing has brought a lot. In the end it remains a judgment. Mr Lascau explains further, "We don't measure a distance or a height in judo, but we appreciate an impact that is not longer than the blink of an eye. It is not the same thing. Through precise situations and carefully chosen exercises, during the sessions on the tatami, we put the referees in a situation of understanding the course of a judo match. It is insuring a guarantee of good refereeing. We are constantly working to improve things and we can be very proud of everyone's work."
This is also the reason why Antonio Castro, Chair of the IJF Medical Commission and IJF Ambassador, was present, "It's important for us as the Medical Commission to have close cooperation with the referees. They are the ones who are close to the athletes and who can immediately act and report if something goes wrong. They see what we can't see from the side of the mat. They know judo and from a medical perspective it is very important."
For nearly two hours, the referees of the Olbia Junior World Championships sweated and practised real judo. They did so in a good-natured, although studious atmosphere, conducive of efficient work. They aslo spoke a lot, exchanged points of view and lifted the veil on uncertainties. From the first day of competition, they went onto the tatami in their dark suits, the level of self-confidence at maximum, the guarantee of fair sport.