The Federation International de Savate (FISav) has continued its Arbitrage Development Strategy with an online seminar series in English and in French for judges and referees. Through the strategy, agreed in 2017, FISav has been working to increase the participation of women, young people and the newer national federations in international events.
Pre-pandemic, FISav had been organising in-person seminars for national federations around the world. With current restrictions on travel, and the need to maintain interest and skills, particularly for the less experienced officials, an online approach was agreed. These seminars cover foundational skills for officials, such as ethics, team work and sport rules, as well as the specific knowledge and skills necessary for judging and refereeing. To date, 350 people from 40 countries have registered.
The first seminar, held on Saturday 27th March, was opened by Dr Julie Gabriel, president of FISav, and presented by Maja Odzic, chair of the officials commission. More than 200 people from 32 countries attended this first seminar in English, with another 150 mainly from African countries expected to attend the seminars in French.
Online training has clear benefits both for cost and accessibility, and crucially for sustainability, reducing unnecessary air travel. To complement the seminars, FISav plans to increase the resources available on its website, translating into several additional languages, including Chinese, Serbian and Spanish.
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