First powerlifting referees qualified in Canada

The programme aimed to develop national referees ahead of the Toronto 2015 Parapan American Games from 7-15 August, where powerlifting is one of 16 sports on the schedule.

A total of seven people have successfully passed their training to become the first ever qualified national powerlifting referees in Canada.

The programme aimed to develop national referees ahead of the TORONTO 2015 Parapan American Games from 7-15 August, where powerlifting is one of 15 sports on the schedule.

Attending the TORONTO 2015 sponsored course was Jon Amos, Chairperson of IPC Powerlifting’s Sport Technical Committee and IPC Powerlifting Certified Educator, who helped to train the referees.

Each attendee was nominated by the Canadian national governing body to be trained on the course.

The new trainees will now prepare themselves for TORONTO 2015 by officiating at various national competitions.

In 2014, other courses have taken place in Hungary, United Arab Emirates, and Kazakhstan. The final course of the year is due to take place in November in Brazil.

Training for referees and classifiers was also held in Turkmenistan, supported by the development arm of the International Paralympic Committee the Agitos Foundation.

Currently, a total of 56 new referees are now qualified as a result of the five courses.

In other sports, organisers of the TORONTO 2015 Games have started various projects to develop para-sport in the Americas, working alongside the Agitos Foundation.

As part of “The Road TO2015: Agitos Foundation Sessions”, coaches and classifiers have been trained in swimming, athletics and goalball.

The TORONTO 2015 Parapan Am Games will feature around 1,600 athletes from 28 countries competing in 15 sports, with just over one year to go until the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.

There are currently four levels that referees can achieve within IPC Powerlifting – national, regional, international category I and international category II.