Brazil was well represented at the Olympic Games and at the Paralympic Games the South American country is also present in force, not only in terms of players but also in terms of officials.
Leonor Demario of Brazil was on duty umpiring at the Olympics, while at the Paralympics, her compatriot, Maria Jose Ferrer is officiating. Not only are both ladies from Brazil, in fact they hail from the same city, Itajuba, in the south west of the state of Minais Gerais.
"I was a Table Tennis player in Brazil before I started to umpire," explained Ferrer. "I left school in 1977 and went to the United States to learn English for one year."
Knowledge of English is an essential ingredient for an international umpire.
"In 1978, there was an international tournament in my town," continued Ferrer. "I went to the president of the local Table Tennis association to ask what I could do to help, the answer was to be an umpire, now it's what I love doing."
It is the best seat in the house; you have a first class view of the action.
"Players are from different countries and speak different languages, but in the Table Tennis arena they communicate not by words, but by signals," explained Ferrer. "Everyone knows the rules and usually everything goes smoothly."
Ferrer is a regular face on the international scene. She umpired at the Athens 2004 Olympic Games and has become accustomed to meeting the world's best players, but officiating at the Paralympic Games is somewhat new.
"Umpiring at the Paralympics is different; I am not so familiar with the players. Everything is new for me," Ferrer continued. "I umpired in 2007 at Parapan, the Para Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro. I saw a great spirit, great determination and from that moment on I began dreaming about umpiring in the Beijing 2008 Paralympics."
The experience at Parapan motivated Ferrer.
"To umpire at the 2008 Paralympics is gift for me, not everyone has the chance to experience such a unique event," said Ferrer. "For me it is great to see so many people from different countries, who have traveled a long way to come here, being just the same as me. They all have a great love for Table Tennis; we are no different."
Not only was Ferrer motivated by Parapan, so was the Brazilian Table Tennis Confederation, under the leadership of Alaor Azevedo, who also is present in Beijing. November 26-29, 2009, the city of Rio de Janeiro will host the Brazilian Open for the Disabled, the biggest such tournament ever staged in Latin America.
"Almost all the players who played in the 2007 Parapan tournament will join the rest of the world in Rio," said Ferrer. "It is a big chance for the players in Latin America. I'm proud my country can host such a tournament and certainly I'll be there; I wouldn't miss it for the world!"
Ferrer is now a very experienced umpire in mainstream Table Tennis, but in the Paralympics she has to be totally focused all the time.
"The rules in some classes are different in the Paralympics. For example the service of wheelchair players, I must call a let if the player serves the ball over the side of the table," the Brazilian explained. "However, more often than not it's the players who tell me if that has happened; they see it before I do!"
Such adjustments are a minor difficulty for the umpires. For them the Paralympics is a learning experience as well as a motivating event. All are delighted to be in Beijing, none more so than Maia Jose Ferrer.
(BOCOG September 9, 2008)