Charles Villet is going to the Rio Olympics
Charles was also recently appointed by the UWW as a Neutral Referee
It may have taken Charles Villet more than 30 years to realise his dream, but it has finally come true.
The 52-year-old will be officiating in the wrestling events at the Rio Olympics in August.
The news was announced by United World Wrestling (UWW) recently. Charles will be one of 50 referees from around the world, and the only representative from Africa.
It has taken blood, sweat and tears for Charles to arrive at his current position. He is a former wrestler for Transvaal and was a 15-time provincial champion. He then went on to become a referee and has been working hard, climbing the ladder of success.
“The love and passion for wrestling is something that will never leave me. After I retired from active participation, I wanted to do something that would benefit the wrestling community. Because I started refereeing at such a young age, it became an easy choice to pursue it as a career path,” he said.
Charles has been heavily involved in the progression of South African, holding posts at different levels. He is a former president of the Central Gauteng Wrestling Association, as well as team manager for the Continental and World Championship teams. He is now the current president of the Officials Council of South Africa.
This is because he is ranked among the top 40 Category IS referees in the world by UWW.
“I saw being a referee as a way to challenge myself to see if I could reach the upper echelons of officiating. This is what I have been working hard for all these years and to have it happening is just surreal,” he said.
To make the grade in Rio, Charles had to referee at a series of extremely competitive UWW competitions, where referees needed to show they could perform under pressure and impress the selectors. They had to officiate in matches such as the Senior World Championships in Las Vegas last year September, the continental championships in Egypt earlier this year, and the second Qualification Tournament in Turkey.
“As one who has been actively involved in wrestling as an athlete, it’s easier for me to officiate because I know what to expect. When I see a wrestler using a certain grappling manoeuver, I know how to judge it. At times I get really involved while officiating because I can see the wrestlers giving it their all,” said Charles.
He has a long list of firsts as his accolades which have made him the undisputed top wrestling official in South Africa. He is first the Olympic Category Referee from South Africa, the first South African referee to be put in charge of a World Championship, and the first South African referee to be put in charge of the wrestling event at an African Games level event.
Charles was also recently appointed by the UWW as a Neutral Referee at the 2014 World Beach Wrestling, and then appointed as the Neutral Referee at the 2015 All African Games in Congo and the 2015 Mostafa Championships in Egypt. He has also been appointed as the Neutral Referee in charge at the 11th African Games to be held in Brazzaville, Congo in September this year.
Charles is presently in the Congo undergoing referee training, he’ll be jetting off to Algeria in July to be an instructor in the Junior’s and Cadet’s African Championships, and will be in Rio in August. Then he flies back to the Congo in September.
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