The first seminars of this year's fitness instructor training course for referees were held on March 29 and 30 in Tokyo. The course is held for two years (three times a year) and it is currently in its second year. Those who finish the course will be in charge of the referee fitness in their respective regions. For this occasion, nine participants from nine different regions of around the nation took the seminars. Since they will be in charge of futsal and beach football as well, they were lectured about how to hold fitness tests for referees and evaluate from both theoretical and practical standpoints this time.

Instructor's comment　

Yamagishi Takashi　　JFA Referee Fitness Instructor

Our theme was ''how to conduct futsal fitness tests'' this time, and we mainly asked the participants to understand how to prepare and run them and earn the skills so they will now be the ones to conduct them in their regions. I understand that they all had enough knowledge on the fitness tests for the football referees and how to prepare and run them, but in terms of the fitness tests for futsal, it was not necessarily the case and something they had not experienced previously. Yet I feel that they got to acquire enough knowledge through the seminars in this occasion. We hope that they will exhibit it in the upcoming regional tests they will eventually have to take care of.

Member's comments

Kato Atsuhito Fitness instructor (Osaka)

I learned how to strictly conduct the fitness tests for futsal during the seminars. We were actually to go through conducting the tests for the candidates of the first-grade futsal referees, but it was unfortunately cancelled due to the rain. So we the participants were divided into two groups, and mocked the tests pretending that each of us was the examinees.
As the result, we got to know how hard it would be as examinees, and we ended up gaining double experiences in the end. Hopefully, I can convey the outcomes and how I felt in these seminars when I'm back in my region.

Arita Yasushi　Fitness instructor (Fukuoka)

Every time I come and participate in this seminars, I deeply think about how and what we have to do in terms of raising our physicality, which is one of the most significants elements for the referees. And this time, it was about the management methods for the fitness tests for futsal, which were certainly different from the fitness tests for the football referees, so I took the lectures very seriously.
Unfortunately, we were not able to have the fitness tests for futsal because of the rain. But still, we fitness instructors could simulate how to run the fitness tests and got to understand how the referees are actually feeling during the fitness tests. It will be important for us, who will be in charge of running it, to take advantage of these experiences we received this time.
I'd like to do my best, thinking of how the referees would feel, to hold the best possible fitness tests when I have them back in my region.

Yanagi Tamotsu　Fitness instructor (Niigata)

From the theory of ''acceleration'' to how to set up the fitness tests for futsal, to how to recognize the standards and conduct them, the seminars were certainly valuable occasion for me to attend.
The actual fitness tests were not held because of the bad weather, but it was still a very good opportunity for me to know that you have to have the judgement sense of prioritizing the safety for the referees as well as the determination.
I would like to develop the fitness of the referees in my region, taking advantage of the experience that I earned this time.