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Aurélien Gimenez Makes History in Austria

Aurélien Gimenez has recently returned from Baden, Austria where he was able to make history by becoming Ireland’s first Beach Volleyball International Referee Candidate.

 

Aurélien along with 19 other referees were selected from an application process to join the first European Beach Volleyball International Referee Course (EBIRCC) ever organised on European soil.

 

The referees spent their first three days immersing themselves in the rules of the Beach Volleyball game, following a series of lectures run by Course Director Geir Dahle and Course Instructor Oana Sarb – both long-time members of the European Refereeing Commission (ERC) and with a wealth of experience in the sport. Mr Dahle and Ms Sarb did not only review the rules of the game, but used video analysis as well in order to make their ‘students’ familiar with the actual interpretation and correct implementation of the rules.

 

After a theoretical examination to end the first section of the course, the 20 aspiring international match officials moved to the courts where Beach Volleyball action took place in Baden from Wednesday to Sunday – thus officiating at matches of the Beach Pro Tour Futures in their capacity of first or second referee, e-scorer, scorer and even as line judges. This variety of functions certainly helped them have a full understanding of the roles and responsibilities of all match officials – an ability they will need to develop even further as soon as they start their five-year-long journey to confirm their status as European international referees.

 

Aurélien has been working closely with our Education and Training Commission to help bring VLY’s beach volleyball events and courses to the next level. We look forward to implementing new ideas from his experience and insights obtained throughout the course.

 

Aurélien Gimenez

More than a personal achievement, I also see this as another step for the National Federation to develop Beach Volleyball and work to offer players, officials and staff a proper structure to prepare for international events and show that Ireland can be represented in Beach Volleyball on the international stage.”

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