Without going through professional sports training, but with their ability, experience in many competitions and dedication, they have confidently refereed mass sports tournaments in an impartial manner. These amateur referees have brought a fresh color to grassroots sports activities by both playing the role of "weighing the scales" and propagating and popularizing the rules and regulations for athletes. At the same time, this team also contributes to solving the problem of referee shortage during the peak time of many sports activities throughout the province...
Many volleyball tournaments for the elderly in Gio Linh district were successfully organized with the contribution of non-professional referees - Photo: M.Đ
Live with passion
Mr. Nguyen Sy Hung (born in 1972) in Ward 5, Dong Ha City has received many compliments from the amateur football community and the Quang Tri movement for his passion and dedication to the king of sports. In his youth, Mr. Hung was known as a talented midfielder of Dong Ha football and is now a reputable, impartial, and responsible amateur football referee.
He shared: “I came to the fate of refereeing by chance when my brothers wanted to organize a friendly match but lacked a referee, so they asked me to take on this job. I accepted and started to control the match based on the knowledge and experience of a long-time football player. After that time, I realized that being a referee is also very interesting and proactively learned from other referees to improve myself, confident in my new role in football. Up to now, I have been a referee for more than 6 years for amateur and amateur football tournaments with many memories...”.
Many mass sports tournaments have developed strongly thanks to the silent contribution of the team of "amateur" referees, a passionate movement - Photo: M.Đ
Despite his “veteran” age, in his free time, Mr. Hung still goes to the football field to satisfy his passion, exercise and ask his teammates if there are any mistakes in his refereeing of matches that need advice. He said: “Starting out as a player, I understand that players always want a referee to manage the match objectively and without bias.
I did not go through professional training, so I always learn from well-trained referees with many years of experience; I always search and update new information about football rules, practice good health to meet the requirements of refereeing and the trust of the tournament organizers and players". What is admirable about Mr. Sy Hung is that in addition to ensuring expertise, he is also enthusiastic and has a sense of responsibility. For him, happiness is being able to referee on the field to immerse himself in the exciting atmosphere that football brings.
The story of famous athletes moving up to referee is quite common in the mass sports movement in Quang Tri. The plus point for these referees is that they have matured from practical competition in grassroots sports tournaments. In the context of a lack of formally trained referees and amateur referees, this movement has been invited to participate in running grassroots sports tournaments from the grassroots level to communes, wards, and towns, and some large-scale, high-quality sports tournaments organized by provincial agencies, units, and sports-loving communities across the province.
Mr. Vo Tam (born in 1968) in Ho Xa town, Vinh Linh district, said: “I used to be a volleyball player in Vinh Linh district. Seeing that I played well and understood the rules of volleyball, many people invited me to referee volleyball tournaments for youth, women, and the elderly in Ho Xa town and neighboring localities. In 20 years of refereeing, I have had happy and sad moments accompanying the sports rhythm of the people.”
Many valuable contributions
Not only solving the problem of lack of referees, amateur referees in sports such as football, volleyball, tennis, badminton... also contribute to solving the economic problem for many grassroots sports tournaments.
The team of physical education teachers and amateur referees have contributed a lot to the success of sports tournaments at the grassroots level - Photo: M.Đ
Head of the Gio Linh District Elderly Association Bui Ngoc Dung said: “Over the past 5 years, the Elderly Association from the district to the grassroots level has organized many volleyball tournaments. Most of the referees we use in the tournaments are elderly athletes who play volleyball well, understand the rules and are enthusiastic about the sport. The valuable thing is that every non-professional referee voluntarily participates.
Using homegrown referees has solved the difficult problem of referee rental fees, thereby giving the tournament organizers more favorable conditions to improve the prize structure and organize more intimate exchanges for the elderly.
Deputy Director of the Center for Culture, Information and Sports of Vinh Linh District, Duong Quoc Ninh, said: “In recent times, the sports movement in Vinh Linh District has developed quite strongly, and the success has been contributed by non-professional and amateur referees at the grassroots level. We regularly guide and disseminate the laws and methods of running sports tournaments for the referee team and sports collaborators to do a good job of refereeing; at the same time, we reward those who have made positive contributions to mass sports tournaments to help spread the spirit of voluntary dedication to the sports cause among the masses.”
Not only Mr. Hung and Mr. Tam, but also many other amateur referees, along with physical education teachers and sports collaborators across the province, are still silently contributing to the mass sports movement. They are the extended arms of the sports sector to the grassroots with many valuable contributions.
Mr. Le Viet Anh, specialist of the Department of Sports Management, Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism said: "In addition to performing professional work, I regularly participate in grassroots sports activities and work closely with many amateur referees.
I appreciate these referees for their neat demeanor and serious attitude, which is in line with the spirit of a “judge”. To ensure the match is safe, the amateur and amateur referees always put fairness first, at the same time renew themselves, grasp the rules firmly to overcome all pressures and complete their tasks.
In each match, they closely monitor each situation, come up with quick and accurate solutions, especially maintaining the spirit of a "whistleblower", not allowing athletes and fans to create pressure, threats, or aggression; explaining correctly to athletes to understand the situation, reassuring fans so that the match can continue.
The wish of the grassroots referees is to receive more support from the Sports and Physical Training sector in terms of expertise and professionalism through training courses, improving knowledge of the law and providing practical guidance on organizing tournament operations to further improve their expertise, gain more confidence and motivation to contribute to grassroots sports."
Nguyen Minh Duc
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