James Boyer and Matthew Beattie have been chosen to referee at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, 5-15 April 2018 in the Gold Coast, Australia.
Boyer (FIBA-active since 2009) recently attended the 29th Summer Universiade Games in Taipei, he also officiated at the 2015 FIBA Europe Under-20 Men’s Championship in Lignano, Italy and also has experience at both the NBL and WNBL level.
“It’s been a lifelong dream to represent Australia at the highest level. Whilst refereeing is obviously different to playing, it has still taken a lot of hard work and sacrifice to make it this far. The Commonwealth Games form a significant part of our national identity and I feel very privileged and humbled to be invited to participate in the tournament” said James.
Beattie (FIBA-active since 2009) is a 215 NBL game veteran. He recently attended the 2017 FIBA U19 Men’s Basketball World Cup in Egypt. Matt was also fortunate to work the NBA Summer League in 2015, the FIBA U19 Women’s World Championships in Chile 2011, the Stankovic Cup in 2014 and some junior European Championships.
“I’m thrilled to get this appointment. Working major tournaments like this is an amazing opportunity that I’m grateful to be a part of. I’m also looking forward to welcoming other international referees to Australia – it’s our turn to be hosts!” said Matt.
In addition to James and Matt’s selection, fellow NSW officials have also been chosen for the 2018 Commonwealth Games with Albert Joseph being selected as one of the Head of Refereeing, whilst John Rearden has been selected as one of the FIBA Referee Instructors.
“On behalf of Basketball NSW, we congratulate James, Matt, Albert, and John on their respective selections to the 2018 Commonwealth Games, what a great honour it is to be selected to represent your country. Each of these officials has been involved in our programs from juniors all the way through to the elite level. I am very proud of what they achieved and their ongoing commitment and support of basketball in NSW “said Basketball NSW General Manager Officials and Competitions, Debbie Keirs.