Or that the ref's were out on the piss on the Saturday night during (not after) the tournament till past 2 in the morning. BA then gave one of them the Mens GF.

Is that fact Dogga or is that just some BS you've come up with.

As I understand, they broke a BA agreement that they had to sign regarding behaviour and some where disciplined. And if you think it is OK then you must not think that the hours that players have put in should count for anything. If a ref turned up hung over, and it effects the games. How would BA look, and who should pay back the money parents have spent?

You wouldn't be one of the umps in question by any chance would you #193868?

As far as I am aware (after speaking with many of the referees there) no one was breaking any BA guidelines as they were complying with the direction given by the Commissioner.

Referee's that had early games weren't out at that time, only the referees that had later games the next day, the earliest being 3pm.

I believe a group from our very own state that think they are above the game, squealled on the referees which made them have to abide by a child like curfew. I can't believe BA folded like a cheap suit to a complaint that had no substance and came from a group of people that have no credibility within basketball circles.

I'm glad I wasn't refereeing at that tournament!!!

Graeme,

There were no players or coaches out at that time as far as I am aware, and if they were then that is equally unprofessional. Why should the referees be any different? They are there to officiate to the best of their ability. If they are out late on any night other than the final night that is unprofessional and disrespectful to all the competitors and their parents.

That is why the complaint was made. The fact that you do not see it as a problem shows that you are part of it.

The standard of referee-ing was below the high standards from previous years. Maybe more of the professionalism shown by the vast majority of the competitors should be shown by some referees.

Well then you are also part of the problem. It was unprofessional and dealt with appropriately by BA as it should have been.

It's not a matter of causing trouble. It's a matter of holding referees accountable. Everyone else in the sport is held more accountable for their actions than the referees.

I disagree with you on the referee-ing standard. It was not as good as previous years. We will have to beg to differ.

As far as not having a sport without referees. I agree. However if the referees think they are above the game then the sport is better off by having the participants call their own fouls. This is done successfully when no referees turn up to practice games (which seems to happen regularly due to their lack of accountability). Players and coaches would be held to account if they missed training or practice games.

I keep saying accountability. Some referees hear that and run the other way. THAT is the problem!

This thread is going nowhere!

Should have stopped after the first post

Nah its better then days of lives! Very childish but keep it going I say. Has to be school holidays. hahaha

Of course it was to cause trouble Max! Why else would the referees have been followed around by someone with a camera in a night club, or pub whichever they were in? Why would this group of guys take a camera out on a random Saturday night in Ballarat not to stir the pot...?

I don't know how you can also say that they aren't accountable for their actions, as none of the referees (that went out) performances were below par the next day. Every referee knows of the repercussions that arise if they go out and hit the night life and referee badly the next day. You get reemed for it and potentially sent straight home. Thankfully I have never had to deal with that side of it as my performances on the floor were never affected by the night before (and I have a couple of gold medals to prove that).

It's funny how referee's are always alienated and considered weird by the general basketball community, where now they go out and act like "normal" people on a Saturday night and get critisized for it... what can referee's do right? Don't be social you are considered an alien, go out and be social and all of a sudden you are unprofessional...

Hate to slow you all down - I was at Nationals and I dont remember any games on Sunday. So I think that it had to be Friday night can we at least attempt to get any kind of fact into the discussion please.

The damage to Vic Metro bus was pretty sad really and I know that the state teams involved are pretty shattered. Shame some parents from up north were not held accountable for their hideous behaviour during the tournament. Kinda made the whole thing a bit ordinary really. Some seem to forget that these are 16 and 17 year old kids playing how sad - play the ball not the man!

Everyone tried hard, worked hard and I do hope enjoyed every minute of it, as for some it will be as good as it gets!

Every tournament regardless if the Referees go out or not, people will complain they were all out late and on the Piss. Even the nights when we all stay home we are accused of going out. You are better off as a referee if you do go out, because come 10am tomorrow morning you are all going to be sitting there getting a lecture about it (regardless if it happened or not).

Max and all the other exceptional ambassadors of the game wouldnt have put any undue stress on the referees all week. I bet not even one person screamed out for a foul during the whole championship. So why would the referees who obviously had good finals the next day want to go out and clear their head the night before a game they must perform on?

Cheez, check out the title "scandal".

Egging a team bus is hardly a scandal.

Anon,

Obviously you were not at the tournament. Just another Bullsh#t story of yours.

Nationals started on Saturday the 5th, the same night that Ref's decided to go out. They still had a week of the tournament to go.

Bring on some more whoppers and we will shoot them down.

DK Lillie

Your right my bad i thought they were talking about the night before the g/f.

But thanks for the slagging I will work on whppers for you to shoot down.

And yes I was there for the whole week including a freezing session at that sh1t stadium around the corner. I would love to look for you with your camera next year so let me know if you will be at 20's!

Hardly a scandal.

Coach in sex romp; umpires paid to help a team; stats changed to make a player look better; draw rigged - these would all be scandlals.

Team bus pelted with eggs, jam, toilet paper and even IF a tyre was ever slashed, it is hardly a scandal.

Pea

This is junior sport and some may expect some level of sportsmanship shown at the elite level. I think that it is more connected with that then anything else. People, some coaches included certainly lost sight of this at nationals this year which needs to be dealt with as it will only get worse.

Would you feel differently if it was your daughter/state team that was the target?

Agree with Pea. I looked further into this thread because I thought something juicy had happened.

Unsportsmanship at the U18 nationals; whats new?

I cant answer for Pea but if my kid was the target at least I would rest assured that she was part of the winning national team.

The winners are grinners - the rest can go wreck a bus.