Open angle | Basketball New Zealand Referee Update

Issue 14: 19 January 2024

THREE NEW FIBA REFEREES

Three New Zealand referees being granted FIBA referee licences for the first time was a highlight of the list of international referees and commissioners for the next two-year licence cycle announced by FIBA at the end of last year.

Mikey Graham, Rhys Hamilton and Duran Whiu have all been granted white licences, which entitles them to referee international games at a regional level.

To see the full list of New Zealand referees and commissioners announced by FIBA, see the story on the BBNZ website.

KIWI REFEREES IN ACTION INTERNATIONALLY

New Zealand referees continued to feature at FIBA tournaments during the last part of 2023.

Sherhon Martin refereed at the Asia U16 Men’s Championship in Qatar on 17-24 September.
Toni Smith-Hunwick and Sherhon Martin were at the Oceania U17 Championships on 1-8 October in Papua New Guinea.
Sam Pan went to the Pacific Games in the Solomon Islands, with the basketball tournament taking place on 17-25 November.

NATIONAL LEAGUES REFEREE PANEL ANNOUNCED

The referees selected by the Referee Leadership Group to make up the National Leagues Referee Panel for the 2024 editions of the National Basketball League and Tauihi Basketball Aotearoa have been announced.

Four referees have been added to the panel as level 4s: Kobe Lucas, Blake Rosanowski, Sam Mcfadzean and Elijah Mareko.

Other points of note are the promotion of Sherhon Martin to level 1 and the promotion of Brad Clive to level 2.

To see the full details of the referee panel, go to this story on the leagues website.

REFEREE SELECTION PANEL – CALL FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST

A key part of the Officials Development Framework is the creation of a Referee Selection Panel with the objective to ‘Objectively and systematically evaluate and recommend candidates for BBNZ event referee positions based on their qualifications, experience, and suitability for the role’.

BBNZ is now seeking expressions of interest for people to join this Referee Selection Panel. If you have a strong system and process approach, an eye for talent, and a commitment to developing refereeing in New Zealand then we invite you to express your interest.

Find out more here - Applications close Friday 2 February.

BBNZ OFFICIALS STAFF APPOINTMENTS

Community and Development

Lauren Fitzgerald-Love
National Officials Developer

Lauren joins the BBNZ team in the new role of National Officials Developer to lead the implementation of pathways, programmes and services to support the development of officials across the basketball community.

Lauren has an extensive background with national and international sports organisations, including senior roles with the Australian Olympic Committee, the Australian Olympic Team (2016) and Australian Commonwealth Games Team (2022).

Lauren most recently worked on the 2023 FIFA Women’s Football World Cup, and has also played professional basketball in Australia and Europe - representing Australia at age group level.
Lauren is based in Wellington and starts on 29 January.

Tournaments and Leagues

Sasha Nicolson
Officials Coordinator

Sasha joins the BBNZ team in the new role of Officials Coordinator to plan, organise and implement all operational aspects for officials related to BBNZ & NBL events including referees, score bench, statistics and referee trainers.

Sasha will be familiar to many across the basketball community as an experienced referee; she was one of the three female officials to achieve a FIBA licence for the first time since 1988 and was recently upgraded to a FIBA Green licence. She will bring a strong connection and active passion for our game and officials community.

Sasha is based in Napier and starts on 29 January.

Ken Coulson
National Leagues Referee Manager
Ken Coulson continues in the contract role of National Leagues Referee Manager and will provide expanded support into the tournament space. Ken will also chair the newly formed Referee Selection Panel, to be joined by two independent selectors.

Ken had a distinguished career as a national and international referee from 1982 to 2004 and has continued to contribute to the game through a range of referee development and leadership roles with FIBA and BBNZ. In 2022, Ken was inducted into the BBNZ Hall of Fame that recognises people who have made a distinguished contribution to the sport of basketball.

PETER RODGERS RETIRES FROM BASKETBALL

The end of 2023 saw Basketball New Zealand say thank you and farewell to Peter Rodgers who has ended his formal involvement with the game. Basketball New Zealand is grateful for the contribution and commitment Peter has made towards refereeing in New Zealand over a lengthy career.

Starting his refereeing career in 1985, Peter refereed at all levels in New Zealand, including 12 seasons in the National Basketball League, before retiring as a referee at the end of the 2005 NBL.

After his retirement from on-court action, Peter continued to be involved as a referee trainer, technical commissioner at national tournaments and referee manager for national leagues, including the Conference Basketball League, the Women’s Basketball Championship and the National Basketball League.

After completing the FIBA Referee Instructor Programme training in 2017, Peter was appointed to the position of National Referee Instructor in 2019. In this position, he was also chair of the Referee Leadership Group.

Peter is now looking to spend more time on his other hobbies and interests that have been somewhat neglected with all his time put into basketball, such as photography, building model aeroplanes and genealogy.

BBNZ ACKNOWLEDGES MELONY O’CONNOR'S CONTRIBUTION

BBNZ would like to acknowledge Melony O’Connor, who finished in her role as BBNZ Event Officials Lead at the end of last year.

BBNZ Chief Executive Dillon Boucher says that over the past 11 years, Melony has helped lift the quality of basketball officiating in New Zealand.
“Melony’s work over the past decade - in this role, as a member of the National Referees Panel, and as an active official across our professional and age group domestic competitions – has been invaluable for basketball in New Zealand,” says Boucher.

“Her work as a Referee Development Manager for BBNZ for 10 years is also notable, as she has helped support the development and growth of many of our referees. We thank Melony for her hard work in the New Zealand basketball officiating space and wish her all the best with her next endeavours.”

Melony’s achievements were recognised in the 2023 New Years Honours List, when she was awarded the Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for her services to basketball. She also won multiple officiating awards, including NBL Referee of the Year in 2012, 2021 and 2022 and most recently, 2023 Tauihi Referee of the Year.

Melony says that she has been fortunate to work in a sport that has been a major part of her life for over 40 years.

“BBNZ has provided me with the opportunity to further my contribution to basketball at a national level, and with that has resulted in me managing to form many close relationships throughout the wider basketball whanau. I’d like to thank those who have supported me through out my time,” says Melony.

“I will still continue to contribute where I can, and look forward to seeing the continual growth of our NZ referees.”

U23 NATIONALS & D-LEAGUE TOURNAMENTS

Thanks to the following referees and trainers who made themselves available for the 2023 U23 Nationals & D-League tournaments:

Technical Commissioner: Peter Rodgers
Trainers: Daniel Hart, Ken Coulson, Melony O'Connor, Te Kirikauri Pene
Referees: Alex Poupoasa, Alex Spurr, Ben McLauchlan, Blake Rosanowski, Brad Clive, Brin Watson, Codey Montgomerie, Corey Hogg, Danielle Kooge, Dardys Green, Dylan Mead, Elijah Mareko, Ethan Ngarangione-Pearson, Felix Sparks, Jake Young, Jayden Rosanowski, Kobe Lucas, Leo Shaw, Marchy Pang, Marshall McCabe, Mikayla Sharp, Nick Choi, Olivia Murray, Rikailo Rimene, Russell Gavin, Sam McFadzean, Sasha Nicholson, Tamatea Bennett, Taylor Lynch, Tyler Radbourne, Wayne Russell, Weejay Manigo

SECONDARY SCHOOL NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

Thanks to the following referees and trainers who made themselves available for the 2023 Secondary School National Championships:

Technical Commissioner: Melony O’Connor
Head Trainer: Ken Coulson
Trainers: Brian McKenzie, Cate Baxter, Devina Banks, Jill Bolger, John Bartlett, Michael Condon, Rebecca Moon, Tony Eldershaw
Referees: Aimee-Jo Clark, Alana Tombleson, Austin Picard, Austin Smart, Balint Molnar, Bethany Mahoney, Blake Rosanowski, Brad Clive, Brendan Walsh, Brock Harlum, Brooke Jameson, Brya Mahoney, Charlie de Prinse, Chloe Marsters, Codey Montgomerie, Corey Hogg, Elijah Mareko, Felix Sparks, Greg Scott Tauranga, Hamish Dale, Hunter Clarkson, Jack Studholme, Jake Young, Jaxson Fisher, Jayden Rosanowski, Jazmin Dean, Jed Walker, Katie Godber, Kobe Lucas, Leo Shaw, Liam Cammelot-Allan, Mia Daly, Mihi Patea , Mikayla Sharp, Mikey Graham, Nathan Buchanan, Nick Choi, Oceen Reed, Olivia Murray, Paris Urwin, Peter Marshall, Reagan Ashley, Rikailo Rimene, Sam McFadzean, Tainui de Thierry, Toby Morgan, Tyler Radbourne, Yaoyuan Zhang

TERTIARY NATIONALS

Thanks to the following referees who made themselves available for the 2023 Tertiary Nationals:

Referees: Austin Smart, Ben McLauchlan, Blake Rosanowski, Brock Harlum, Codey Montgomery, Diana, Walsh, Hamish Dale, Jayden Rosanowski, Reagan Ashley, Richard Kenny, Sophie Currie, Tyler Radbourne

CONGRATULATIONS

The following referees have been appointed to the last lot of national finals for 2023:

U23 Men’s Nationals: Corey Hogg, Brad Clive, Sasha Nicholson
Women’s D-League: Taylor Lynch, Danielle Kooge, Mikayla Sharp
A Secondary Schools National Championships Girls: Chloe Marsters, Mihi Patea
A Secondary Schools National Championships Boys: Blake Rosanowski, Elijah Mareko
AA Secondary Schools National Championships Girls: Mikey Graham, Corey Hogg, Aimee-Jo Clark
AA Secondary Schools National Championships Boys: Hamish Dale, Brad Clive, Reagan Ashley
Women’s Tertiary Nationals: Austin Smart, Tyler Radbourne, Jayden Rosanowski
Men’s Tertiary Nationals: Hamish Dale, Reagan Ashley, Ben McLauchlan
Tauihi Basketball Aotearoa: Melony O'Connor, Matt Bathurst, Sherhon Martin

Also congratulations to Melony O’Connor for being named the GJ Gardner Homes Tauihi Basketball Aotearoa Referee of the Year for 2023.

The officiating crew at the Tauihi Final 4, from left to right: Peter Rodgers (referee evaluator), Callum Welch (Instant Replay System operator), Matt Bathurst, Sherhon Martin, Melony O’Connor, Sasha Nicholson, Brad Clive, Sam Pan, Ken Coulson (National Leagues Referee Manager).

WEBINARS FROM FIBA

FIBA regularly organises webinars on various topics relating to refereeing. Recent topics have included basic referee protocols and crew communication at the end of the game.

These webinars are normally held at 4:00pm central European time. This is not a good time for us but the good news is that the webinars are recorded and the recordings are available via the FIBA iRef Academy Library App. To get these recordings, open the iRef Library app and go to the “Monday special” section, where you’ll find folders with the recordings going back to 2021.

If you don’t have the iRef app, download it from the link below.

REFEREE TECHNIQUE FOCUS:
Start > Development > Finish > Decision

During a game of basketball, you will make hundreds of decisions, either to blow the whistle and make a call or to not blow the whistle because no call is needed. In order to make a quality decision, you need to see the whole play so you have all the information needed to make a decision. This is why FIBA has introduced the concept of Start > Development > Finish > Decision.

What this means is that you need to see the start of the play, the development of the play and the finish of the play, then you can make a decision. It’s only when you have seen the whole play that you can know if the action was legal or, for example, if the contact had an impact and you need to make a call. In other words, you want to see the whole film, not just a snapshot. If you make a call before the play is finished, there is an increased chance of making a wrong call.

Here are some tips to help you put this into practice on the court.

It is important that you get into position early so you can see the whole play by picking up the defender and focusing on the defence while being aware of the offence, for example sprinting in transition from trail to lead so you can get into the correct position and see the play coming towards you.
“Staying with the play” is a related technique. You need to keep watching a play until it has ended. For example, keep watching until a shooter has returned to the floor after a jump shot rather than immediately turning to follow the flight of the ball.
Seek to increase your basketball knowledge so that you better understand what is happening with situations like shots, rebounds, screens, to help you understand when each type of play finishes.
Practice identifying the start, development and finish of plays when you are watching a game, either live or on video.
Find something you can do to give yourself a small pause rather than immediately blowing the whistle, such as taking a breath, talking to yourself, or something else that works for you.

RULES QUIZ

Test yourself with these rule questions.

With three seconds on the game clock in the third quarter, B1 fouls A2 in the act of shooting. A2 is awarded two free throws. Instead of A2, A3 takes the free throws. Following the free throws, Team B inbounds the ball and the clock runs down to the end of the quarter. After the ball is already live to start the fourth quarter, the error is recognised. Is the error still correctable?
B1 is charged with an unsportsmanlike foul for contact on A2. Before the free throws for A2, B1 is charged with a technical foul. Which should happen first, the free throws for the unsportsmanlike foul or the free throw for the technical foul?
A1 is about to attempt a last free throw. None of the Team B players are lined up in the free-throw rebound places they are entitled to. Should the referee make some Team B players move into the rebound places?
Dribbler A1 and defender B2 foul each other at approximately the same time and the referee calls a double foul. This is Team A’s third team foul and Team’s B’s fifth team foul in the quarter. How does the game resume?
A1 drives to the basket in the act of shooting. A1 uses an arm to push away defender B2, who is inside the no-charge semi-circle. The referee calls a team-control foul on A1. Is this a correct call?

Rules quiz answers

No. The ball has become live following the first dead ball after the game clock has started after the error. – Art 44.2.1; Int 44-9
The free throw for the technical foul. – Art 36.3.2; Int 42-11
No. Players are entitled to rebound places but don’t have to occupy them. If they decide not to occupy their rebound places, they must remain behind the three-point line and behind the free-throw line extended until the free throw ends. – Arts 43.2.4, 43.2.5; Int 43-2
With a throw-in to Team A. As it is a double foul, the number of team fouls in the quarter is not relevant. – Art 35.2; Ints 35-1, 35-3
Yes. The no-charge semi-circle rule does not apply when an offensive player illegally uses an arm. – Art 33.10; Int 33-9

REGISTERED IN THE BBNZ DATABASE?

If you're active as a referee or a referee trainer, you should be registered in the BBNZ database. To complete a registration if you are not currently in the database, follow this link. You can check and update your details at any time later by going to members.nz.basketball and logging in with the same e-mail and password.