The Lebanese Taekwondo Federation organized a refresher course for international and national referees and the graduation of new referees in sparring over two days at the indoor hall of the Mon La Salle Club (Ain Saadeh). The number of participants, including both males and females, exceeded 115. The course was attended by Grand Master Joe Khoury representing the Federation President Dr. Habib Zreifa, Korean Grand Master Sun Oh Park, the Kookiwon envoy in Lebanon, Grand Master Antoine Saad, President of the Ashrafieh Club, Grand Master George Makhlouf, Vice President of the Examination Committee, Grand Master Eli Elia, National Team Coach, Master Ferzad Abdollahi, Grand Master Salim Ghneima, responsible for the Metn Country Club, and Master Lawyer Joe Qabti, Consultant to the Federation President. Technical and electronic systems coordinator Yegya Yessrian also attended.
The course featured presentations by Olympic referee Grand Master Daniel Khorasanjian, an international lecturer and member of the Competition Committee of the International Federation, Chairman of the Referees Committee in Lebanon, and International Referee Supervisors and heads of provincial referees in France. After the national anthem, the Federation President Dr. Zreifa's address was delivered by Grand Master Khoury, who welcomed the participants and highlighted the achievements of international referees in international competitions. Notably, international referee Alexandra Zidan was recently awarded the title of Best Referee at the Arab Championship, while international master referee Nasib Hassan and Suha Kazzi excelled at the Asian Championship and the International President's Cup in Iran.
During the course, Khorasanjian explained details related to fighting rules, provided live examples for all possible scenarios, special exercises for match management, scoring, and a detailed explanation of video replay and each referee's role during matches. Participants underwent special training on signaling and refereeing movements and were subjected to written, practical, scoring, and video replay tests for match management, considered the toughest exams in the history of taekwondo in Lebanon.
The course concluded with a speech by lecturer Khorasanjian, in which he thanked the Federation under Dr. Habib Zreifa for its significant attention to the refereeing sector. He also expressed gratitude to the participants for their tremendous efforts and high discipline throughout the course. The best four referees were selected and awarded for their outstanding performance: Celine Shbeir from Combat Arena, Ria Shouli from Mon La Salle Club, Tony Saab from the Armenian Club, and Khair al-Din Farraj from the League Club. Dr. Zreifa contacted Khorasanjian to congratulate him on the success of the course and praised its high standard and organization, akin to the International Federation's courses.
