Nineteen match officials participated in the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) First Quarterly Fitness Test on Saturday at the National Track and Field Centre, Leonora, West Coast Demerara.
Of the total, there were four FIFA and 15 national referees, the latter comprising four referees and 11 Assistant Referees (ARs).
Referees during the first quarterly fitness test
According to Lindley Langhorne, Member Association Fitness Instructor, who administered the test, all of the FIFA officials successfully completed the test. “It was a clear indication from the FIFA officials that they were very much prepared for this fitness test and, by extension, the game. They exhibited good physical condition throughout all aspects of the fitness test,” he noted.
Langhorne said the test for FIFA referees consisted of the Repeated Sprint Ability and Interval tests while the ARs were charged with completing the Code of Direction and Agility (CODA). “The Repeated Sprint Ability Test involves six sprints for which they have to pass at particular timings before six-eight minutes rest before heading into the Interval part of their evaluation. In the interval part of the evaluation, they are expected to do a number of runs, that’s 75-metre run followed by 25-metre walk, which completes a total distance of 4000 metres around the track upon completion. These interval tests are a good indication as to how the referees’ body is prepared for the game,” he explained.
Referees being evaluated by Member Association Fitness Instructor Lindley Langhorne at the Fitness Test
Langhorne outlined the purpose of the referees’ fitness test: “While the referees generally have to run 4000 metres around the track in comparison to the game, which they run some 1200 metres, this is just a sample of what they perform in the game. A referee who is properly prepared for the game will easily pass one of these fitness tests. This is just a general evaluation to indicate what level of fitness they currently have. Regarding the heart rate, many of our officials have heart rate monitors, [from] which we’ll get some readings to determine how their bodies are responding to the various kinds of activities, whether it is the sprints or high intensity runs.”
For the ARs, there is an additional activity to be performed: “The test is similar for the Assistant Referees with the inclusion of one more activity in which they must do three different evaluations in this one test. They are engaged in the CODA, Repeated Sprint Ability, and Interval.
“The ARs have to do a series of sprints, since this is one of the elements that can be found ever so constant inside of the games. In comparison to referees, they both run about 4000 meters around the track, but the ARs generally run a shorter distance in the game, but the test still gives a good indication as to how well the referees are prepared for the game.”
The referees’ fitness test is a quarterly and mandatory element of the national referees’ programme to ensure match readiness of officials.
