Della Shaw‑Elder has been appointed by International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) to be a referee at the Weightlifting Competition at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

Shaw‑Elder is the only Female Category 1 Technical Official in the Pacific region in Weightlifting.

In 2017 she officiated as a Technical Official at 3 International Competitions including the 2017 Commonwealth Championships, 2017 Asian Indoor & Martial Arts Games and the 2017 Pacific Mini Games.

Weightlifting Fiji has also forwarded Della’s nomination as a referee for two World Championships this year.

Weightlifting Fiji is hoping that Della gets invited to at least one of these World Championships, as part of her bid to officiate at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.

Shaw‑Elder started her sporting career as a track sprinter when she was “loaned” to the Weightlifting team for the 1995 South Pacific Games, in Tahiti.

She won a Weightlifting Gold Medal in Tahiti and again in 1996 at the Oceania championships.