Flamengo coach Marina Valadão will participate in the refereeing course offered by the International Artistic Swimming Federation in the Dominican Republic this weekend (2, 3 and 4). The coach will travel to the city of Santo Domingo, the country's capital, this Thursday (1) with the aim of updating herself on the rules of the sport.
 

"I started in the sport as a referee, and today, although I work more as a coach, I'm still on the FINA judging list. Every four years, the rules of artistic swimming undergo changes, so even though the target audience is the referees, I'll learn a lot as a coach too, because the process of evaluating routines and figures will become clearer," says Marina.

Marina, who led the Mais Querido Junior and Junior teams, joined the club in 2010 as an intern and was hired three years later. During her time at Flamengo, the coach has already achieved several successes. Jaddy Milla's first gold medal at the Brazilian Category Championships in 2015 and Giovana Faria's first gold medal at the first international competition in 2017 at the Santiago Open were significant, but for the coach, witnessing the swimmers' progress over the years is the most rewarding part of her job.

"There's no greater achievement than seeing your athletes, who started at the youth level, secure their spot on the national team. It's really cool to be able to participate in this growth alongside them," says the coach.

Back in Brazil, Marina and her team's first challenge will be in March, in the selection process for the Rio de Janeiro Infanto and Juvenil teams.