Skip to main content
12221
Go to International Paralympic Committee homepage Official website of the Paralympic Movement
Contrast:
High Contrast
Normal Contrast
Enlargement:
Larger Font Size
Default Font Size
Smaller Font Size
    • Home
    • Paralympic Games
    • Events & Competitions
    • The IPC
    • Results, Rankings & Records
    • Media centre
    • Sports
    • Classification
    • Videos
    • Athletes
    • Fan Zone
    • NPCs
    • Agitos Foundation
    • Partnerships
    • Newsletter
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Youtube
    • Instagram

    Media Centre

    • News
    • Blogs
    • Newsletter
    • Magazine
    • Athlete of Month
    • Media Office
    • Ones to Watch
    • Campaigns
    • Top 10 Moments

    Emilia Aratanha and a wheelchair rugby referee's dream

    16.05.2018

    Brazilian falls in love with the sport and plans to officiate at Tokyo 2020

    Female referee poses Emilia Aratanha was inspired to referee wheelchair rugby after watching the sport at Rio 2016 © • Emilia Aratanha
    By Beau Greenway | For the IPC
    Listen to this page using ReadSpeaker

    Sports never appealed to Emilia Aratanha. But that changed after she attended the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.

    After watching a number of sports, including wheelchair rugby, Aratanha is now training to become referee. Her aim is to officiate the sport at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.

    The Brazilian teacher and researcher’s only involvement with sport was mandatory gym classes at school.

    “I knew Paralympic sports were a thing, but they seemed too far out of my reality to know more about them,” Aratanha said.

    “I was on YouTube one day when I came across the ‘Murderball’ documentary.

    “As a child, the only sport I have ever enjoyed playing was rugby, I loved the intensity of it.

    “Watching the trailer, I thought it was so cool, but I never thought it existed in Brazil.

    “When we had the Olympics here, I wasn’t that interested until I realised that it meant we were going to have the Paralympics here as well.”

    After making contact with a Brazilian wheelchair rugby player in Sao Paulo through a mutual friend, Aratanha met some of the national team and learnt more about the game.

    Before she knew it, she was hooked.

    “I ended up buying tickets to almost all the games,” Aratanha said.

    “When I got there, I couldn’t contain myself.

    “I spent the game screaming and cheering. I have never been that excited about a game in my life.

    “I don’t know why but it touched me somehow.

    “I got to meet a lot of people involved and I ended up enjoying the game and the community.”

    Following the Games, she sought a way to remain connected with the sport.

    Information was scarce, until she discovered an advertisement for wheelchair rugby referees on Facebook.

    “I never had done anything like that before but being a huge nerd, I liked the idea of understanding things in-depth,” Aratanha said.

    “I drove over six hours to get to course, it was in Rio.

    “I felt like a fish out of water, everyone had a connection to sports or health-related fields, but I was determined.

    “I took the course in November 2016 and in February 2017, I refereed my first game.

    “A couple of months later I went to the city of Bebedouro for a championship, that’s when I had my exam to become an official referee.

    “Because of a lot of problems, regarding my work hours and my mum getting sick, I wasn’t able to be in court as much as I wanted to.

    “This year I changed my job, my mom is way better, so I decided it was time to come back.

    “I still have a long way to go, a lot of tests to pass and a lot of time to get to the necessary level, but I admit that my goal is Tokyo 2020.

    “I’ve been training to improve my endurance and studying as much as I can, so when I finally get time to be on court, I’ll be ready.”

    Related News
    Draw made for 2018 Wheelchair Rugby Worlds
    2018 Wheelchair Rugby Worlds seedings revealed
    Final wheelchair rugby Worlds spots claimed
    Canada not ready to settle for second best at Worlds
    • Tweet
      • print
      • send
    LATEST NEWS
    Nadezhda Fedorova suspended for anti-doping violation 05.08.2019 Nadezhda Fedorova suspended for anti-doping violation
    Nottwil 2019: USA top table as Junior Worlds conclude 05.08.2019 Nottwil 2019: USA top table as Junior Worlds conclude
    Nottwil 2019: Breathless third day 04.08.2019 Nottwil 2019: Breathless third day
    Nottwil 2019: Noah Malone makes his way 03.08.2019 Nottwil 2019: Noah Malone makes his way
    Vote for July’s Athlete of the Month 02.08.2019 Vote for July’s Athlete of the Month
    More news...following the link
    Worldwide Paralympic Partners
    Go to Atos partner page
    Go to Bridgestone partner page
    Go to OttoBock partner page
    Go to Panasonic partner page
    Go to Samsung partner page
    Go to Toyota partner page
    Go to Visa partner page
    International Partners
    Go to Allianz partner page
    Go to BP partner page
    Go to Citi partner page
    • FAQ
    • Privacy
    • Imprint
    • Jobs
    Powered by Go to Atos. Worldwide IPC partner page
    The Paralympic Games
    Summer Games
    Winter Games
    Sochi 2014
    Rio 2016
    All the results & medallist since 1960
    Games video archive
    About the IPC
    Who we are
    Anti-Doping
    Medical
    Partners
    IPC Strategic Plan 2015-2018
    IPC Handbook
    Publications and Documents
    Media Centre
    News
    Features & Interviews
    The Paralympian
    Videos
    Athlete of the Month
    Media Office
    Sports
    Summer Sports
    Winter Sports
    Biographies
    NPCS
    Africa
    America
    Asia
    Europe
    Oceania
    Go to International Paralympic Committee homepage
    Official Website of the Paralympic Movement • IPC
    Homepage
    Paralympic Games
    The IPC
    Results, Ranking & Records
    Media Centre
    Videos
    Sports
    International Paralympic Committee (IPC)
    Adenauerallee 212-214, 53113 Bonn, Germany
    Telephone: +49-228-2097-200 • Fax: +49-228-2097-209 • E-mail: [email protected]
    23:57:27