Olympics official: "The pressure is unbelievable" - Articles

At the Rio Olympics, 20 indoor and 16 beach referees will be tasked with judging and administrating the matches fairly. VBM had a chance to chat with Dan Apol, the USA designated beach referee (Patricia Rolf, the former Marquette coach, is the USA designated indoor referee). Apol, a ref since 1991, is a full-time volleyball official. He lives in Castle Rock, Denver, and is one of a handful of referees in the world who have both the International FIVB beach and International Para-volley (handicapped) certifications and is also an NCAA official. He has 12 years of International experience and was an Olympic referee in London 2012. As you might imagine, an international referee racks up plenty of frequent-flyer miles. Apol has officiated in 30 different countries and will spend 87 days this year officiating outside the U.S. Referees must be selected by USA volleyball to become a national official. It takes a minimum of three years to become a national referee, candidates must attend a variety of training programs and be evaluated numerous times. What’s more, candidates must attend international referee school prior to age 41. There are one or two international clinics per year. International beach referees are forced to retire at age 55. "Beach is an image sport, they want their officials to be youthful and be fit as well,” Apol said, adding that on the average international beach referees are 15 years younger than their indoor counterparts. VBM and Apol visited on a number of topics, starting with the difference between the Olympics...

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