An IWAS seminar on wheelchair fencing refereeing attracted more than 80 participants from around the world ©IWAS

More than 80 participants from Europe and the Americas joined a three-day "Introduction to Refereeing" seminar for wheelchair fencing from January 29 to 31, run by the International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports Federation (IWAS).

 Coaches, officials and current able-bodied referees from 27 countries took the opportunity to find out more about the nuances of the sport with the aim of starting or developing their own programmes.

The seminar, in English, follows on from the same sessions held in Spanish in November, and were hosted by Jon Moss, Chair of the IWAS Wheelchair Fencing Referee Commission; Carolina Anzolin, international referee; and instructor and Development Officer Alberto Cruz.

A general introduction was given before épée, sabre and foil were covered.

A selection of the 80 worldwide participants in the recent IWAS wheelchair fencing refereeing online seminar in English ©IIWAS
A selection of the 80 worldwide participants in the recent IWAS wheelchair fencing refereeing online seminar in English ©IIWAS

Cruz said: "These seminars have proved to be very popular with people from all over the world keen to learn about wheelchair fencing.

"We think this shows the thirst for knowledge that exists in countries where the sport is growing or is yet to be launched.

"We are delighted to be able to meet that demand.

"We hope that we have given the participants the information they need to start building wheelchair fencing, combined with the other resources we have available, and are excited to see what develops from it."

In addition to the seminars in English and Spanish, videos are also available which describe coaching wheelchair fencing as well as how to build a do-it-yourself fencing frame.

IWAS Wheelchair Fencing say it is also working on educational videos and other content which will help grow the sport in the future.