by Ian Marshall, ITTF Publications Manager

Venue for the proceedings was the National Table Tennis Stadium, a venue recently extended to accommodate meetings, seminars and similar functions.

“The expansion of the stadium is a big improvement; it makes international competition of a high level possible.” Freddy Almendariz

Overall, a total of seven umpires from the regions of Paraguay participated, in addition to Asuncion, course members travelled from Encarnacin, Ñemby, Capiat and Ñemby.

“The students all looked forward to the course and were most attentive. They wanted to learn the work of the referee, especially the organisation of draws; the comments from those who attended reflected their satisfaction.” Yoanna Ramirez

Satisfied the responses from the course members were most positive.

“The course was really an apprenticeship, we thank the Latin American Table Tennis Union for this course; we learned the functions of the referee and we look forward to participating in future events.” Arturo Sanchez

Notably, Derlis Medina, a sergeant in the Paraguayan armed forces was most appreciative of the efforts that had been made,

“It was a great opportunity for me to attend the Basic Referees Course; it allowed me to learn more about the sport. It was a pleasant experience and important taking into account that Paraguay is increasingly progressing this sport.” Derlis Medina

Approval from course members, it was the same from Manuel Britez, Chair of the Paraguayan Table Tennis Federation’s Umpires and Referees Committee.

“This was a great achievement for the national association, Paraguay has a policy of promoting international events; increasingly we and have the technical staff required. Now the challenge is to put into practice what they have learned in different local, regional and national events.” Manuel Britez

The participants in the course were: Jerko Harasic, Derlis Medina, Marcos Di Mena, Benicio Ivan, Moreno Coppari, Cristian Centena, Arturo Sanchez and Claudio Melgarejo.