REFEREES SELECTED FOR NEW EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM

Basketball NSW is proud to introduce a new program for budding referees to continue their development and growth within the officials’ pathway to assist in retaining referees once they age out of the junior referee network.

The Advanced Referee Development Program (ARDP)  has been created as a link between the Junior Development Program (JDP) and the Advanced Referee Program (ARP) in order to bridge the gap for selected officials to continue honing their skillset after graduating from junior officiating to senior. 

The JDP is aimed at referees who are generally 16-25 years old and currently refereeing under 16’s & under 18’s in BNSW Waratah Junior  Leagues. The program’s aim is to increase the referees skills in preparation for them joining the BNSW Senior League, this will be done by targeting their rule knowledge, mechanics / individual officiating techniques (IOT) and game control.  Association’s are asked to nominate two officials that are working towards being on the BNSW Waratah Senior League panel to be included in the program.

ARP is a group selected by BNSW Head of Technical Officials along with the JDP and ARP program managers and BNSW referee staff. It is based on their involvement at junior and/or senior representative level, State programs and Australian Junior Championships. The aim of the ARP is to identify, educate and provide a planned development program for those officials who have displayed the interest and potential to progress to an elite level by progressing to the National Referee Development Program (NRDP), National Panel (WNBL/NBL) or when they achieve their National Development Grade.

These budding whistleblowers have been identified by their local associations after years of hard work at the local junior level and have progressed through their association and now are looking to advance to the senior level but need another degree of support in order to join the ranks within the ARP.

The nine selected referees will work closely with BNSW to consolidate and enhance their knowledge along with their refereeing skills in an accelerated learning environment. This will include various on-court sessions, online learning courses and mentoring. 

Basketball NSW, Head of Technical Officials, Steve Clark conveyed his enthusiasm by adding that the Advanced Referee Development Program will be a cornerstone opportunity to connect with talented referees to help build upon their skill set while keeping them active within the sport.

“We want to keep all our officials within the game and as a governing body, we have noticed that there is drop off between our junior to senior levels of refereeing and we want to combat this by providing this extra layer of support and learning for our involved referees,” said Clark. 

“With the introduction of this development program, we want to see more officials progressing through our pathways in a more consistent manner with up to date skills and experience. Education is really important for those young referees who are desiring to officiate at the elite level such as the NBL, WNBL or even our Waratah Senior Leagues.”

“It’s a true testament to the hard work and efforts happening at our association level that we have such a talented and dedicated group of officials but there is always more work to be done to attract and keep such members.”

BNSW would like to congratulate each valued official wishing them the best for the upcoming season.

BNSW is also working closely with our associations to provide education and training, as well as assist with the recruitment of new officials across all age groups across the state.

Anyone who is interested in becoming a referee can find out more details about upcoming courses HERE.