Quinten Vos (30) from Emmen participates in the Amateur Referee of the Year election as a representative for Drenthe. He does this together with Edwin Assen from Weiteveen.
Vos is a delegate in the Association referees category, while Assen participates in the KNVB referees category.
Vos whistles matches for SC Erica in Emmen. He was registered for the election by someone else. “I didn’t have to do much for it myself, people had to vote for me if they thought I deserved this. At first I didn’t even know I was registered for that election.”
“In the long run I was told, of course,” Vos continues. “I heard here and there that quite a lot of people from the club had secretly voted for me.”
In the end it turned out that Vos was allowed to participate on behalf of Drenthe for the national election. “It feels like an honor that I am nominated and that I also get enough votes to go along for Drenthe.”
“I think it’s important to make a statement at the moment. You see that in football, but actually everywhere, volunteers are running out. I am absolutely in favor of more young volunteers,” explains Vos.
“I’m 30 and I’m at the bottom of the list when you look at the age of the volunteers at the club. An average umpire with us is over 50 I think. I hope young people see me at the election and see for themselves become interested in becoming a volunteer.”
Vos was quite surprised about the fact that he had won. “I was already named in the newspaper before I knew I had won. Only later did I receive an email stating exactly what happened and what is now expected of me.”
Two delegates were selected for each province, one for each category. Each delegate was asked to complete a questionnaire before the next stage of the competition. Based on the answers, the jury decides which six referees per category will proceed to the next round.
In the round that follows, the referees are judged in practice. The jury comes to watch one of the matches that the nominated referees whistle. Based on this, three referees per category are eliminated.
The three remaining referees per category will continue to the final day on January 7, 2023 in Zeist. There they are subjected to a fire of questions. The person who gives the best answers will eventually receive an award for Best Amateur Referee of the Year.
Vos does not know very well how to estimate his chances, but he thinks that he is appreciated as a referee at his club in Emmen. “I often hear that people like the way I whistle matches. I watch matches as a footballer, so I don’t always take the rules very seriously. I try to keep it fun.”
“People sometimes wonder if I don’t want to do more with my qualities as a referee, but that’s not my ambition at all. The whistling of those matches is my hobby.”