André Mariano and Laedson Lopes Are the Brazilian Referees in the Pan and South-American Junior and Cadet Championship

Besides the sixty-three athletes who will be competing at the Pan-American and South-American Cadet and Junior Championships and the seventeen members of the technical committee leading the team, Brazil will be also represented in Buenos Aires by the referees André Mariano (DF) and Laedson Lopes (RN), both A leveled - the highest IFJ’s grade.

\"We have an important National Arbitration Council which keeps all Brazilian referees updated. So we expect our colleagues and athletes to be aware of the current judo changes,\" Andre Mariano said.

\"Brazilian Referees are acquiring international recognition. We hope having a performance similar to the one in our country so we can represent well the Brazilian arbitration. \" Lopes Laedson said.

Brazilian refereeing is really experiencing an excellent moment. This year, two new referees entered the IJF’s board - Eduardo Nascimento from Minas Gerais and Irisomar Fernandes from Espírito Santo - and four others were promoted. Glaudson Azevedo from Rio de Janeiro and Angel Peteleiro from Bahia arrived at the Pan-American level (IFJ B), while Leonardo Stacciarini from Goiania and Flávio Pereira from Rio Grande do Sul were promoted to World level ( IFJ A). Therefore, Brazil has now 112 referees listed in the three main categories of worldwide refereeing.