To be a referee means to apply the rules. Nothing more, nothing less.

Armwrestling at the world level gets bigger and the whole sport changes, the competitors become stronger, faster, is a whole different level. Is a professional sport already and what a professional sport needs is the refereeing level to be at the top.

We need a change? Yes. We might have seminars and testing but the attitude must change. A good addition will be that the video recording from the official cameras to be reviewed in case of a protest, the WAF rules don't have a clear procedure on how a competitor can defend himself at a protest. Is 2017 and we must evolve, we have professional competitors, high level championships but incomplete rules. And when I say incomplete it means that everything that is decided on the stage to be included in the rules, in writing and not to be just a procedure that is only said at the referee seminars. Referees are humans and they can do mistakes, but no argument is valid and weights more than the way a competitor feels after a defeat.

As a referee you have to never forget, you don't represent a country, a group or anything else, you are there only and only to be in the duty of all the competitors. It is time to find ideas, ideas that come from competitors, ideas that will be received at EAF and WAF level referees seminars and with this occasion is a good moment to invite all the team captains and competitors to attend the international referee seminars and discuss all the ideas they have to improve all the aspects of a competition. Communication and acceptance of the ideas is the key to democracy, as they listen to us, at every competition, at every match, it is also time for us to listen to them. That is the correct way.

There is no rank, level or position in refereeing that compares to the feeling you have been fair and served your duty as a referee in the best way possible. That equals to the feeling the competitors have when they go up on the podium.

Eduard Dimiean EAF Assistant Director of Referees