UIPM Judges Certification Programme: Judges take turn getting to grips with Obstacle in Alexandria (EGY)

History was made at the UIPM 2023 U17 World Championships in Alexandria (EGY) when, for the first time ever, the Obstacle discipline was integrated into a global competition. 

The week marked the beginning of a new era for the sport with the Fencing/Obstacle/Swimming/Laser Run format to be adopted at all levels of Modern Pentathlon after the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. 

With this new dawn very much front of mind, a hugely productive UIPM Judges Certification Programme course was run in conjunction with the event in Alexandria, with over 50 participants putting a particular focus on the new discipline. 

Under the expert tutelage of UIPM JCP Educator and Technical Committee member Andrea Dell’Amore (ITA), a group of 51 students were put through their paces at Levels 1, 2 and 3 for a full week from July 6-12. 

The students included 49 from the host country with three notable additions — Jawid Khawar (AFG) from Afghanistan, Abdallah Mohamad Mosa Abo Hasa (JOR) from Jordan and Vaibhav Chaphekar (IND) from India — as UIPM continues to support development of our sports in the Middle East and Asia. There were 20 women and 31 men on the course. 

UIPM JCP Educator Andrea Dell’Amore (ITA) said: “This is such an exciting time for our sport with the integration of Obstacle and while we saw the athletes in Alexandria give the new discipline rave reviews, the judges are just as energetic about it!

“It’s so important that we continue to work with our judges to ensure they are up to speed on Obstacle and this course was so helpful in that regard. Across the week, the standards were impressively high and I’m delighted to say that all participants passed as they continue their judging journeys.”

Egyptian Modern Pentathlon Federation Board Member and UIPM Technical Committee Member Ali Assem said: “Alexandria’s place in the history of Pentathlon will always be remembered with this first global event to include this great new discipline and everyone at EMPF was proud that we helped organise such a successful competition. 

“However we’re just as focused on our efforts to help continue the education of judges as they play such a key part in our sport. It was really pleasing to have worked with UIPM on organizing such a well-attended JCP course in Alexandria and I thank Andrea for his work on this course.”