Rome, Italy, June 18 – With the vast majority of the attention focused on the athletes, it is often forgotten that referees and court officials play an equally important role in making the FIVB Swatch World Championships Rome 2011 powered by smart a success.

Agnieszka  Myszkowska is one of 16 international referees in control of matches at Rome 2011 and she is learning even more about her vital role whilst making her debut at a World Championships.

“It is a big honour to be here, but it comes with a great responsibility because there are a lot of expectations from the players and coaches,” Myszkowska said.

“It is a big advantage to be here because I can learn from the best referees. There are five or six referees here that will be going to the Olympics so it is very beneficial for me.”

It has been a meteoric rise for the 34-year-old from Poland. Away from the beach volleyball court Myszkowska works as a software engineer, but has always had a passion for sport.

“First of all I was an indoor referee,” Myszkowska said. ”Then I started to like beach volleyball. It is better than indoor so I started to prefer it. We are closer to the players so we can speak with them and the weather is better.

“I passed my course in 2008 in Vaduz in Liechtenstein and then in 2009 I became an international referee, so it has taken three years to get here."

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