What we say goes
Fencing Victoria’s World Class Referees
Some of Australia’s top referees made their first calls at Fencing Victoria competitions.
Victoria Mentor
Internationally accredited Foil and Epee Referee
Blake Breeland-Clencie
Internationally accredited Foil and Epee Referee
Rob Di Pasquale
Internationally accredited Foil and Epee Referee
Hone Your Skills
Our referee development pathway provides opportunities to learn from some of the top referees in the country. After gaining sufficient experience, Victorian referees can be recommended to the Australian Fencing Federation for national accreditation.
Get Paid
Once accredited as state referee, you are eligible to be a paid referee at our competitions. Remuneration scales with experience and expertise so the more you referee, the more we can offer you.
Accreditation Pathway
1. Club Refereeing
Start your refereeing journey at your club. Clubs are offered a number of free admissions to our refereeing course as a part of our Club Incentives.
Talk to a club administrator about acquiring free admission from your club.
2. Referee Course
Once a year we run a comprehensive refereeing course.
The course covers general skills, specific conventions for each weapon, and concludes with a written assessment. Those who pass are eligible for a practical assessment at a state competition.
Must be 13yrs or older to attend the course. The cost of the course for those not subsidised by their club will be published closer to the event date.
3. Live Assessment
Organise with our competition technical directors to be assessed at a state competition.
Assessment involves refereeing 1 poule and 2 direct elimination bouts while being supervised by an accredited referee.
If your assessor is confident in your abilities, you will be registered as a Level C referee.
Please email Jenny Shaw at DTA1@fencingvictoria.org to organise your assessment.
Referee Categories
Referees are grouped into level A, level B and level C based on experience.
Level C
- State accredited in 1 weapon
- Less than 1 year of experience
Level B
- State accredited in 1 weapon
- More than 1 year of experience
- At level B we can start recommending referees to the AFF for national level accreditation
Level A
- State accredited in 2 weapons for over 2 years
- OR 1 weapon for over 3 years
- OR nationally accredited in at least 1 weapon
- Eligible to be asked to fill the position of Head Referee at state competitions