TREVISO – The arbitration sector Three.One it’s increasingly… green. In addition to the large group of match officials from Treviso-Belluno who are at the top at a national level, there is a lot of basic activity to give new life to the sector, with the course to become referees organized by Fipav Tre.
One activated in October-December 2023 which led to the promotion of 10 new federal referees, and the school course held at the Liceo Da Vinci in Treviso, which saw the participation of 20 students and allowed 6 of them to deepen their knowledge and skills up to to be promoted to federal arbitrators.
There are many very young people who are approaching the world of refereeing in recent seasons and in particular this year, on the occasion of the course to become FIPAV match officials, they have distinguished themselves two boys just fourteen years old, thanks to the rule that has just come into force which allows you to become federal referees from the age of 14. It’s about Amber Pellizzari and of Samuele Canilpromoted to referees after passing the course last December.
Two guys already very determined to climb the perch as soon as possible: “I had been fantasizing about it for two years already – tells Samuel – My mother is a referee and as soon as she told me about the exemption for fourteen-year-olds I jumped at the chance”. Equally inspired by Ambra, on the other hand, when you see a Treviso native at work who is also one of the best referees around in Italy, you may want to follow her example: “I saw Dominga Lot at work very closely, who honored us with his refereeing at Mareno di Piave, the club for which he once played. Then I tried my hand at refereeing a tournament again in Mareno and when our president invited me and my teammates to think about a lineup, I didn’t hesitate.”
Usually at this age we think above all about playing and in fact Ambra plays in Volley Mareno and Samuele in Samarcanda Volley Resanese, but sometimes another type of stimulus arises: “I love playing, but I think I’m much better at knowing the rules and I give a lot of importance to Fair Play – explains Ambra –. I see refereeing as an additional opportunity to experience volleyball from within and in an active way for longer”. In Samuele’s case, once again it was his mother who played a fundamental role: “He always told me with passion the various anecdotes that happened on the pitch and the application of the regulations. As a player I realized that there were several things I didn’t know and the desire to deepen my knowledge arose.”
Inserting the referee course, which consisted of several face-to-face lessons, into the routine of two boys in their first year of high school was not easy: “My parents made themselves available to take me to the various lessons, then a classmate who lives not far away also helped me” Samuel explains. Ambra was also able to count on her parents and on some passages: “My parents were happy to see me engaged in this new adventure; then another student gave me a little push.”
The official sector of the Treviso-Belluno race, led by the manager Vincenzo Brunoalso in this case worked to create a close-knit group during the course and the two boys, despite the age difference, immediately felt welcomed and at ease: “In the end, these referees who inspire us so much are human and even funny! Jokes aside, they were really pleasant moments and made us feel part of a team” says Amber.
What are the goals for two fourteen-year-olds who are about to take their first steps in the world of refereeing? “It’s something I could really be passionate about, I hope I can live this opportunity to the full – these are the words of Samuel – Let’s say that my goal for now is to surpass my mother: we’ll see later.”
Ambra was also highly motivated and declared after the course: “I would like to have a good journey, to be respected and recognized as a good referee and, who knows, maybe one day to referee my beloved Imoco. I can’t wait to try my hand at some refereeing, I know it won’t be easy from an emotional point of view, but the important thing will be to improve little by little. And I hope I can not be influenced by criticism and insults: I see that there is no shortage of them, unfortunately.”
After several federal matches refereed in the months following passing the exam, the real “baptism” for the two fourteen-year-olds did not take long to wait: on Sunday 7 April, in fact, Ambra refereed the 3rd-4th place final of the Inter-territorial U14 Male championship and Samuele the 1st-2nd place final of the Territorial U13 Female championship. On the perch therefore two boys very slightly older than the protagonists on the pitch. Two races of a certain importance both because they were finals and because of the great event setting reserved for these occasions by the Tre.Uno Committee.
