Boxing-Folette selected for Beijing Olympics |17 April 2008
Only Olympic host China will be represented more than once, with three referees and judges.
Speaking to Sports Nation, Folette said:
“To be frank, I was not expecting to be selected because I was not looking forward to going to the Beijing Olympics. Because I had officiated at the Sydney Olympics, I thought ‘that was it for me’. The selection has come as a surprise.”
The 51-year-old added: “I’m not afraid of the task that lies ahead of me. I’ve done it before and I’m now looking forward to it as I can’t let a second chance to officiate at the Olympics pass by. I know what to expect in the Beijing Olympics, but it’s going to be tough.”
Aiba president Dr Ching-Kuo Wu said: “This new evaluation process has proven to be very intensive. But it has ensured that we will not only see the best of the world’s boxers in Beijing but also the top international referees and judges who will officiate during the Games.”
Folette, who made his international debut in 1992 during the King’s Cup in Thailand, said: “The task of a referee is much easier as I have a lot of experience. The toughest part is judging. There used to be five main criteria in judging bouts but now there are just three.
“I used them for the first time last month in Windhoek (Namibia, during the 2nd Aiba African Olympic qualifier) but did not get the chance to review my results as I had to come home early as all Seychellois boxers had been eliminated.”
One of three African officials for the Beijing Olympics, Folette added that he feels bad that whenever he is chosen to officiate at these games no Seychellois boxers qualify for the event.
The 34 referees and judges will feature in two Aiba Olympic referees and judges workshops next month, the first – a classroom workshop – from May 20-23 in Beijing followed by a practical training workshop during the 1st Aiba President’s Cup to be held from May 24-June 1 in Taipei.
Aiba refereeing and judging commission chairman Terry Smith said it had been “a challenging, yet rewarding process to have to narrow a field of over 50 international referees and judges down to 34 who will go to Beijing. The standard around the world has been exceptionally high and now we can look forward to working with these officials during the forthcoming workshops. However, we must reiterate that the list is by no means final and will still retain our options to replace, substitute or remove any officials for reasons of poor performances, physical fitness or indeed for any reason that Aiba considers detrimental to the standard that must be expected of an Olympian official.”
The 34 officials selected for Beijing are Fernando Servide (Argentina), Wayne Rose (Australia), Siahrei Parshin (Belarus), Michael Moroko (Botswana), Pierre Chiasson (Canada), Qingsheng Li (China), Jiabo Wang (China), Jue Wang (China), Armando Carbonell (Colombia), Juan Ponce (Cuba), Jose Castro (Ecuador), William John Phillips (England), Jean-Robert Laine (France), Zurab Tibua (Georgia), Georgios Kaouris (Greece), Peter Dorko (Hungary), Enrico Apa (Italy), Kassymkanov Berikbol (Kazakhstan), Jae Bong Kim (Korea), Anatolijs Zaicevs (Latvia), Anatoli Kaigorodov (Moldavia), Sandag Bayasgalan (Mongolia), Rogelio Fortaleza (Philippines), Marek Podsiadlo (Poland), Eugene Sudakov (Russia), Edmond Folette (Seychelles), Francisco Alloza Rosa (Spain), Zahra (Syria), Artit Somchai (Thailand), Hassen Boughalmi (Tunisia), Karakulov Mykola (Ukraine), James McNally (USA), Roberto Gutierez (Venezuela) and Eduard Dyer (Wales).
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Edmond Folette’s factfile of big events
Olympic Games – in 2000 in Sydney, Australia
World Championships – in 2001 in Belfast, Northern Ireland
Commonwealth Games – in 1998 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in 2002 in Manchester, England, and in 2006 in Melbourne, Australia
All-Africa Games – in 1991 in Cairo, Egypt and in 1998 in Johannesburg, South Africa
Indian Ocean Islands Games – in 1990 in Madagascar, in 1993 in Seychelles, in 1998 in Reunion and in 2007 in Madagascar
G. G.