THE NEWEST MEMBER of the European Pocket Billiard Federation (EPBF), National Pool Association of the Faroe Islands (NPAF), and the EPBF recently hosted the island’s first EPBF Referee Training and Certification Course and Exam. It took place from 24th to 26th January at the Landskrona Pool Hall, located in the heart of the capital of the Faroe Islands, Tórshavn.
The EPBF Referee Course is a three-day training and certification program that aims to help the candidates reach the international referee standard, in terms of both theoretical knowledge and practical table refereeing skills. The program concludes with a certification exam that validates the referee performance against the remarkably high EPBF bar. Successful candidates receive EPBF referee licenses that authorize them to serve at national and continental pocket billiard events.
EPBF Referee Instructors and Examiners Miha Vovko and Roman Mirakhmedov conducted the three-day course from January 24 to 26. Eight candidates, all representing NPAF, were successful in the final examination and became the newest members of the EPBF Referee Team.
“We were very impressed with course organization and the approach that we saw from NPAF,” said Miha Vovko, EPBF Referee Director.
“NPAF is young, yet it has outstanding long-term vision focused on developing young talent, introducing pool into the public-school physical education system, and getting all the structural components and processes in place to support smooth and fast development. This referee course was one such component that NPAF considered an essential element of their success.”
Shehan Andrew W. Bandara, President of the National Pool Association of the Faroe Islands, said “Having EPBF certified referees on our team is paramount for our ability to run our national events at the European level. Having the course in the Faroes was extremely helpful in building momentum in the local communities, as nearly every newspaper, as well as our central radio station, took the chance to provide news coverage for this event.
“I am happy and impressed with our candidates who went through an incredible amount of material in just a couple of days to be able to demonstrate their ability to perform at the high EPBF standard. This would not be possible without continuous support and inflow of positive energy from the course conductors, who did everything to help our candidates get the most out of the course.”
Roman Mirakhmedov, EPBF Head Referee, added “It was amazing to see the commitment, engagement, and teamwork of the candidates. The learning curve was very steep, but the candidates teamed up and demonstrated fantastic focus and resolve. They certainly earned their success. We are excited to welcome eight new referees to our team and look forward to inviting them to EPBF events.”
For further details about NPAF, please contact Shehan Andrew W. Bandara at andrew.npaf@psf.fo
For further details about EPBF Referee Programs, please contact Miha Vovko at miha.vovko@epbf.com
For more information about EPBF, please contact press@epbf.com
From EPBF official press release - February 3rd 2025