July 23, 2023 – 00:10
Luisa knew judo since her childhood in Nueva Coneta and was interested in refereeing from a very young age. Today she has 15 years of experience with “the jacket on” and she needs help to become a continental referee in September: that door may allow her a window that would place her in consideration for a place to referee in an Olympic game in five years. In addition, she establishes herself in arbitration in an environment where women are not abundant.
On September 8, 9 and 10 in Calgary, Canada, several of the best judokas in the world will meet to participate in the Pan American/Oceania Championship. In this tournament, 15 referees will be evaluated and only two Argentines were selected by the Argentine Confederation to be evaluated as continental referees: one is from Chaco and the other is Luisa, from Nueva Coneta, Capayán department, Catamarca province.
“I have been in arbitration for a long time and hoping to have this opportunity. It was given to me now, when I reach a good age and meet the requirements”, Luisa Pontífice, second Dan in judo, told Express Magazine, who is also looking for help to complete her dream: the trip to Canada is expensive and the ticket and accommodation expenses are on her own.
Although the tournament lasts three days, a clinic to update the rules and how it will be evaluated is scheduled the day before. Then the tournament begins in different categories and by teams, in which Pontiff will be evaluated as a referee from the practical, the theoretical and later with an interview.
Luisa arrives at a good time because she has 15 years of experience in arbitration, and in order to qualify for this evaluation, at least three years of seniority as a national referee were necessary. In addition, she must have participated in other international competitions in which she has already refereed. If she manages to pass the examination as a continental referee, the next step is to become an international referee and then she will have the opportunity to take the exam to enter the international roster: that is the window in which she will begin to be evaluated for the next Olympic cycle that will end in 2028.
“If I pass, I have all of next year to show myself in the competitions that they call me and to evaluate myself. Generally, by continent a qualification is made. They evaluate us with a lot of parameters and from there we go to a ranking where the best remain. I had the opportunity last year, but in addition to the economic aspect, it was difficult for me from the work point of view, ”he lamented.
“In addition to having all the documentation up to date, it is necessary to have timing, to be oiled with different skills to reach the level. In Argentina we have three key tournaments, which are the two national ones and the Centro República tournament. From there, every weekend I participate in the tournaments that are within my reach, ”he commented.
Aid
Currently, Luisa is unemployed, so she is looking for sponsorships to get to Calgary. “I was waiting for this opportunity and I had been working all these years so that they give me the opportunity to be able to perform. Obviously, that I appreciate that they chose me and I will do everything to try to get there, ”she said. Although she manages some state aid, she needs other support since the Argentine Confederation does not provide economic contributions: those that come from the National High Performance Entity (ENARD) are aimed at athletes, and not at referees. “Being a referee is also a passion, and that requires investment, time, study. I believe that in any discipline the referee’s career is ignored and I believe that it is a fundamental part of any sport, ”she opined.
Only in 2022, Luisa was able to referee in the National Tournament, Opening, Closing, in the Evita Games, in the Centro República Tournament, in the Binational Championship of Colón, Entre Ríos, and in many other competitions that left her well positioned in the Argentine ranking. “In Argentina there are international referees, but they are not active. Until you are 45 years old you are in the race to enter an Olympics, at this moment there is a girl from Santa Fe and I have the possibility of entering now. I feel like this is my year, ”she assessed.
In addition to refereeing, Luisa alternates her time to teach at Paclín, something that is often not enough to even cover the costs, but she does it because of her passion for judo, something she embraced since she was a child. “I found out about judo from a poster in Nueva Coneta in which I saw the person with the ‘judogi’. My mom took me thinking it was karate, I got hooked, my sensei refereed and I loved knowing the rules, studying the regulations. Later I had the opportunity to compete in the Capital, later in the Catamarca national team, I participated in many tournaments. But I always liked refereeing, I started at 20 and everyone told me I was crazy because everyone hates referees, ”she laughs.
Judo was always present in her life, although she “left it” momentarily when she became a mother. “Then I decided to come back. My last competition as an athlete was in 2010, we competed for teams in a national tournament in which there was a high level, Paula Paretto competed, for example, and there I put the bow tie on my career and dedicated myself to refereeing. In judo there are different facets to face the race: as an athlete, if you bet on being elite; as a coach, which requires a lot of improvement; as leader; or as in my case, being a referee ”, she assessed.
“I did a lot of crazy things for judo, a lot of my vacations were just to compete. Once I had a trip to Brazil scheduled and it coincided with a Grand Slam, and I went to see it and had the opportunity to be there. I hope to have this opportunity now, ”she stressed.
Text: Fish Soria
Photos: Courtesy Luisa Pontífice
2023-07-23 03:32:08
#Ive #waiting #opportunity #long #time
