Referee shrugs off his bashful side

Volleyball player Chung Wai-sze struggled with shyness and a lack of confidence - despite his on-court success with Hong Kong's youth and senior teams - until he qualified as a referee.

The 20-year-old Form Six student at Cotton Spinners Association Secondary School, in Kwai Chung, was nicknamed 'Mad' by his friends and teammates because of his extrovert play in competitions. But, at other times, he was bashful and reserved and had low self-esteem.

'I was always worried and lacked confidence,' says Wai-sze, who since 2008 had played as setter for Hong Kong in international youth events, including last year's seventh National Intercity Games in Nanchang , before his promotion to the senior team. 'Before, I hid the real me; I didn't know how to be myself.'

Yet four years ago, aged 17, he took a volleyball refereeing course while in Form Five at Kwai Chung's Buddhist Sin Tak College. 'My senior schoolmates ran an introductory course, so I went along to see what I could learn.'

After the course, Wai-sze passed the elementary referee's exam, run by the Volleyball Association of Hong Kong, China. Since then, he has refereed many local tournaments. He and a team of officials take it in turns to act as the first referee - the principal official that stands up above the top of the net - second referees, who help make line decisions, and the score recorder.

'You need to concentrate every second of a match - and also stand very firm over your decisions,' Wai-sze says. 'Any hesitation or show of weakness can have a disastrous effect in the eyes of the players.'