Most people know that competing at the Olympics is the main goal for any amateur athlete no matter what their sport may be.
In fact, the mere chance to represent their country is something that drives many people to work tirelessly through pain, determined to finally have the opportunity to fly their flag high.
What’s not known, however, is that it’s not only the athletes that have to go through rigorous testing and training in order to participate in the Olympics.
Referees and officials also have to undergo Olympic training, often in order to prove that they are indeed worthy of a spot on the world’s biggest sporting stage.
One such referee that has been invited to the Olympic Training Camp in Aguascalientes, Mexico, was Yorkton’s Susanne Mitchell - a taekwondo referee that also trains at Kee’s Taekwondo in Yorkton – who began reffing on the international stage in 2005 as a way to continue to watch her son compete. “Originally when I decided to become a referee it was because my son was competing and I always loved to watch him,” offered Mitchell, adding that she then fell in love with reffing and began to look at it as somewhat of a career path. “I got my certificate in 2005 and from then on I went to as many tournaments as I could to develop myself and make sure that I’m up to date with all of the rules and how to apply them.
“Then from there I went to different tournaments and people begin to recognize my skills and when they did then I had the opportunity to be put on a list from Canada that says that I qualify and can go to the Olympic training camp.”
However the different tournaments that Mitchell had to attend weren’t simply limited to events in her home country.
Sure, Mitchell has refereed at tournaments in Vancouver and Montreal as well as other Canadian cities, but she also said that to be truly considered as a top flight international referee one must also officiate taekwondo tournaments in some fairly obscure places in order to prove to the World Taekwondo Federation that they are indeed worthy to be considered Olympic calibre. “Some of the bigger events I did were the Junior World Cadets in Baku, Azerbaijan, and I did the Junior Worlds in Egypt in 2012,” said Mitchell. “And I’ve done many, many Opens, like the U.S. Open and I just came back from the Swiss Open in Montreux, Switzerland, but I’ve also done events in Africa in the Ivory Coast and Senegal.”
But first before anything, a prospective referee must acquire at the very least a second Dan black belt. “First you have to become a black belt and in order to become a referee you have to either be a second Dan or a fourth Dan depending on what country you’re from, with refs from undeveloped countries being recognized at second Dan and others fourth Dan,” mentioned Mitchell, adding that female referees, because they are so few and far between, are also eligible for Olympic consideration at second Dan. “There are a small amount of women becoming referees so they allow us to take it when you’re a second Dan.”
Once invited to the Olympic training camp, Mitchell says that prospective referees then have to go thru many different kinds of tests throughout the four day camp. “The first day you’re studying the rules, the new rules or any changes to the rules. They discuss them and they present them so you get all the rules down and then review all the other ones that are already in place,” said Mitchell, continuing, “Then there are exercises in scoring. It’s now electronic hogu’s and headgear but you still have to score the technical points or punches. There is training for the scoring and you have to pass an English test because it’s a universal language.
“And then you go through a physical test and a written test.”
After all of that is finished the selection committee then reviews the 60 referees selected from that particular region - Mitchell is competing for a spot as a Pan-Am representative - and narrows the group down to 10 prospective referees that will go on to the next round of testing and examination; a round that Mitchell hopes will be attended by a referee from a small town in the middle of Canada. “To be asked to come to the first Olympic camp is a huge honour and I’m just so proud that I come from this small place in Canada and that I am representing it,” beamed Mitchell, adding that although she’s happy, she’s not just satisfied with making it to the first camp. “I hope to be invited back to the next round because I’ve worked very hard and sometimes it was a hard road but I’m excited.
“Whoever beats me they’ll have a hard time because I’m going to give them a run for their money. I’m going to make sure that if I don’t get it, they’ll still have to work very hard to get there because that’s where I want to be.”
