This past weekend in Paris, Columbia co-head fencing coachGeorge Kolombatovich received an impressive honor from the FIE, the governing body of international fencing. Kolombatovich was elected President of the Referee's Commission of the FIE for the next four years; he is the first American born president in the FIE's history.
During the body's World Congress that took place in Paris, Kolombatovich was first re-elected to a second four-year term as a member of the Referee's Commission and later elected by that commission to serve as its President.
"I am extremely honored, first to be re-elected by the 116 member countries of the FIE," said Kolombatovich, "and I am doubly honored to be selected by my peers as President of their commission."
In his four-year term as President, Kolombatovich will be responsible for the selection of referees for all Grand Prix World Cups, the Cadet/Junior World Championships, the Senior World Championships, and the 2008 Olympics. A Federation Internationale d'Escrime A-Rated referee, Kolombatovich wasfirstelected by the FIE Congress in 2000 to the Referee's Commission, the first native-born U.S. person to be on the commission. He is the author of the FIE's first written test for referees and works with referee development and testing. Also a member of the United States Fencing Association's Fencing Officials Commission, Kolombatovich wrote the USFA's referee's instruction manual. He is also a three-time Olympic referee who worked two gold medal bouts in 1996.
