Increased reliance on duty teams to provide referees

Thank you to those Norths members who have been stepping up to do duty officiating on domestic games when required.

In the main this by-law requirement has been done with good grace and to the best of the team and their players ability which is appreciated by the teams being refereed and the qualified co-official.

Players have asked, 'Why after many years of 95%+ dual referee coverage do we now have to do refereeing duty more frequently?'

North has a core of 60 volunteer adult qualified referees who between them cover around 200 refereeing spots every round of senior competition. Some referees do 20 games a week and others do much less however from this body of volunteers we have, 'lost' 25 in the past month! The reasons our refs are temporarily disappearing fall into one or more reasons listed here:

What are Norths doing and what can our members do to remedy the situation?

Norths is putting in place a series of basic officiating courses to better enable members to have confidence in their ability to referee a domestic game when duty calls. The course will give practical advice and guidance on managing players within the rules of the game and is specifically geared towards our domestic recreational basketball.

Players who undergo this one or two session course will be fast tracked onto duty officiating be paid and provided with a special referee shirt.

To recognise the contribution by teams where their members apply themselves through these courses Norths is offering a series of incentives. The detail of this programme can be read in the linked document.

Members can assist Norths, the programme and ultimately themselves, by participating in and recommending these courses to other members. Your ongoing participation and support is appreciated.

Trevor N Karsten
General Manager
NSBA Inc.