The new local basketballs season will commence tomorrow. This year, similarly to last season, the competitions have started quite later than what was the norm before the infamous September 2003 storm which had flooded the sports pavilion. The main reason seems to be that the local association has decided to limit its budget for the leagues due to ever increasing pressures put on general sponsorships around the island where an ever increasing number of associations/organisations want to eat from the same (practically unchanged, value-wise) cake.

From the outset I wish everybody, from referees to players, coaches and administrators the very best of luck for the coming months. A special word of encouragement definitely goes to my colleague referees where I hope that each one of us gives his very best and be prepared, technically and physically for every match and more importantly a level of consistency, at a good level, is reached.

Being a referee is not so much of a rosy task. Unfortunately the numbers are dwindling whilst the number of games has remained almost the same. The referees’ appointment officer has an arduous and grueling task to schedule referees and table officials for each and every game.

One of the reasons of this decline in the number of referees is the problem of payments as the referees have a backlog of some seven months and have been asked to wait patiently for better times so that they be paid. The problem is that the veterans may be ready to play their part and wait for some time, up to a certain point, until the get their deserved due as they have a real love for the real game and, generally, they referee due to the latter and not to reap financial benefits from donning a referee’s jersey and whistle. However youngsters may also have a love for the game but ultimately most of them do not have regular jobs and yet still need money in their pockets for leisure time. Thus these same youngsters would not be so much enticed to spend time refereeing or helping on the scorers’ table if they do not get any ‘pocket money’ in return.

As stated previously, the new season is just days ahead and just like players, referees need to start preparing (ideally in a professional way) themselves in all aspects of their game, namely physically, technically and psychologically. The development of a successful referee does not begin when the same referee goes to his first training meeting or seminar.

One way is for the referee to prepare completely and know the rules and mechanics of his sport. If the referee can be where he is supposed to be to see the play going on, the same referee will be more confident. When the referee is prepared, he will definitely know when, for example in basketball, a coach or a player does not have a clue what he is talking about and when the same coach or player does have a clue.

My opinion on the way a referee should prepare himself is to study and work as many games as possible especially in the first years of the career. The more plays the referee sees and experiences, the better prepared the referee will be for his next appointment.

Despite all the preparation, every referee will do mistakes and there will always be a chance that a coach or a player could be occasionally right when commenting on some decision taken by the referee. During the game, the referee should put any such call behind him and rid himself of doubts so that the same referee would be ready for the next decision.

The referee should also be prepared for any hostilities by supporters or protests by players and coaches. This is easier said than done and often new referees (and even not so new) do not come to grips with such situations and end quitting their job because the pressure seems to be too much.

One lesson I learnt was that the referee should remember how he himself acted when he played and/or watched sports as a supporter. Like most players and supporters, he did not know the referee personally and, with very few and rare exceptions, he surely yelled or protested.

However, this yelling or protesting was generally directed at the uniform and not the person (this has been analysed a umber of times in previous articles). Having grasped this idea, the referee can then build a thicker skin and concentrate more on the game. The emotional level is the most difficult aspect of the game that the referee can control. However, if the referee commits himself to block out the jeers and criticisms and concentrate on the play that is going on, he will be a better referee. It really sounds simple but surely needs a lot of practice.

This season will se some interesting changes. The top male league has a change in format and the old play-offs have been replaced with league phases, commencing with six teams playing each other and then being sorted in two respective groups, ending with a direct best-of-three final between the top two placed teams.

Referee-wise there are envisaged also a change to the three–man system in this top local league, a system which I can vouch will lead to better court coverage and decision-making always if it is adopted well.
One hopes that the games will be entertaining and that players play with sportsmanship in their minds. As a referee, it is not my joy to interrupt play but my job entails that I oversee that the game is played in a fair manner and the rules are being followed. If a player opts to contact and thus have an advantage over his opponent (or worse still commits hard contact or verbal abuse, even towards a referee or other official, that results in harsher penalties), I have no other option but to stop the game and let the rules state the resultant penalty. In other words, I have a job to do but will only act if the other ‘actors’ in the game step out of their allowed ‘boundary’ out of their will and nobody else’s.