Sorry but Mike & Mark like it that way. What stadium were you at?

I respect referee's I don't respect people disrespecting the game.

^Second that motion!

The sad fact people forget is people volunteer for this, kids expect to be treated,fairly. Parents pay good money. I get that refs volunteer and the game doesn't happen without them BUT they forget the games is not about prejudice, make up calls in the backcourt and influencing the outcomes. So why does this happen? Lack of reeducation of officials, lack of accountability.

Should say some officials

Funny we were playing at the Montmorency Secondary College and it was so bad. Must have been the same refs you get at Eltham High or Leisure Centre?

They don't volunteer they get paid therefore its a job therefore they should do it correctly

Yes, they do get paid but equally the std of officiating is usually around the same standard as the game they're officiating so if your kid is playing u14 c grade don't expect NBL level officials on your kids game.
Equally you should be focused on either coaching the kids or cheering for them and not on the officiating.

9 times out of 10 at junior level when a referee makes an error it's based on their judgement not correct application or interpretation of the rules..
I.e block v charge etc.
Inexperienced refs will make mistakes just like inexperienced players.
It's the coaches responsibility to teach their kids correct defence, not to travel etc, its equally the coaches (and parents) responsibility to teach good sportsmanship and accept decisions regardless of your or heir opinions and just play on.

Coaches and parents do not have the right to correct officials though when they make mistakes, that is the referee supervisors job.

Hey Obvious........which stadium did this happen.

Pay referees more money,then will get good referees back If You ask doorkeeper how much goes through the door to pay for each parent player and spectator,minus the referee payment ,the amount is in 4 figures on a Friday night surely give junior referees a pay rise.Victorian junior referees better than SA referees.

BSA last financial year gave a pay reduction, yet expect ref's to pay a membership fee which entitles the holder to nothing. No union no representation. There is plenty of referee coaches just BSA not funding it. More money for the management expense accounts.

Seriously, even in Victoria it's getting harder and harder to attract and retain referee's for domestic duties on a saturday.
When you consider all the crap they have to deal with from coaches, players and spectators and the modest pay they get versus working at coles or maccas its no wonder.
Clubs need to take a far more active role in teaching good sportsmanship and enforcing the code of conduct amongst coaches, players and spectators or we'll start to see more and more games predominantly officiated by 1 official which would be a disaster.
The ranks are frighteningly thin enough amongst the senior elite panel who do SEABL/BigV, we don't need to see the grass roots eroded any more.

Time everyone looked at this issue seriously.

Struggling Saturday am in Adelaide than in Victoria,kids want to hang out at night with their mates than referee for a few dollars and cop the abuse,that's why standard of referee has gone down big time.my next door neighbours son referee last year,copped a lot of abuse ,no backup or support as other umpire and court supervisor left to get Mcdonalds and since then hasn't refereed ,he gets more pocket money now that's the real reason kids don't want to referee,senior referees won't come out as they know the pay is crap.One note ,very few committed referees around these days.

That's because BSA don't support it our want to pay for it, they killing it off. Mike has no idea how to promote good relations or support referees. He should be sacked to be honest he does nothing positive just sits back paid monkey.

Gibbo/Bridgeman claims to have visited stadiums.

District nights since that combo started i havent seen them at all,i heard from another source that they dont work weekends.

Gibbo doesnt have passion in basketball,only there for a paid job by BSA same as Bridgeman too,he left Wayville UIC job because he got fed up with Social abuse weekly.
BSA dont really worry about standard of Friday Saturday refereeing.

Gibson gets out and about I've seen him but Bridgeman doesn't. I highly doubt Hubbard ever goes to games. Gibson's problem is he has no people skills and hence most Refs don't rate him or his feedback. Since his involvement the US v THEM mentality/relation has not improved.

I don't believe that Mike cares to much about improving conditions for referees or players to be honest.

guess they were not country referees then

nice coming from someone who lost

hughj

If your SA referees are the best in the country I query why you only have 3 in the NBL and no FIBA qualified referees now that Haines has retired.

^ Fair call, also how can an ABL rostered umpire have such a heavy involvement with a club play in the men reserves and not be classed as a conflict of interest?

so you'd rather ABL umpires with no playing or coaching experience at District Level? That's just stupid, then you'd be the first complaining about how they don't have a feel for the game.

The best referees all have playing and/or coaching experience.

Anon 025

Who on the NBL referees panel has any sort of Coaching or Playing background at anything other than domestic level? (MacDonald excluded)

None of the top 10 currently in Australia have any background in playing or coaching at an elite level.You could stretch that to the entire 28 on the panel actually.

If that's true then I feel sorry for the NBL players.

Read a thread about NBL referees and you'll find every single one of them bags refs for having no feel for the game.

What's the downside?

Just because you have played or coached doesnt mean you can referee and visa versa. Some people just cant referee, they get on the court an the concept of mechanics, blowing the whistle, signalling etc is foreign to them.

The bottom line is the top 10 to 15 referees in Australia are there because they work on their game, self assess/analyse etc

Their results overseas at international events have shown that they are respected around the world and are equal to the standard in Europe.

There is a massive difference though from semi-professional referees to domestic juniors.

It is very difficult to retain referees least of all attract referees to the game just purely for the abuse factor. And the kids do pick it up generally referee at their home associations so therefore they are going to know players and people they referee. What needs to occur is better supervision on game night and also some nurturing to educate the referees that yes you may know joe blow in that team but you cannot be seen to be cuddling etc as that just gives off the wrong impression so whether the referee is biased or not the impression is there that they are.

Better education around how referees conduct themselves on and off court, plus better supervision and in some cases where necessary better rostering to minimise any perception of any "conflict of interest".

Phantom you might actually want to read what was written and too whom it was referred.

The reply was to Anon 025's comment:

The best referees all have playing and/or coaching experience.

That statement is not true of the NBL referees panel as a whole and they are the best in the country.

And saying that I wasnt bagging Benn at all I was excluding him as the anomaly he is because he is coaching. I know Benn personally and I think it is fantastic he is giving back and learning more about the coaching side of the game which can only help his refereeing because he should have a better ability to read offenses etc

So possibly read the whole thread and put it in context first.

So all the people arguing that people shouldn't be involved in coaching or playing if they are umpires are idiots
I played, than I started umpiring an when you first start as someone already said you focus on calling the game and where to stand and nothing else
I quit playin and focused on my umpiring for a year and that was good to improve my umpiring and rule knowledge but lost my understanding of the game
Went back to playing and went hold on I would want that called I I'm playing so I'm going to call it an players respected me over over referees as I called the game they wanted to be called
Than I started my coaching, and I started to see the game through the eyes of coaches and how frustrating it is, so I was able to communicate with coaches better and they respected me more
And because I umpire this way I will never do div 1 seniors or div 1 youth league because I don't umpire the way that the top umpires want me to umpire, I umpire the way the players and coaches want the game to be umpires
I have had plenty of coaches asked why I was only doing what I'm doing and that is my response every time, because I'm not going to suck up to the referee coaches to get those better games

So because I do this have been associated with a couple of clubs and there is not one club that I don't have friendships at, so to the original complaint so what if they hi someone before their game, an not afraid to show affection to their friends. Get over it and don't be jealous, and if you think they are being bias maybe take of your rosé coloured glasses and realise that the court supervisors aren't stupid and will notice if something's ammist but won't talk to them so everyone can see it will be done behind closed doors
For writing this you may have destroyed that referees chance to prove themselves in the near future and this is why we have a referee shortage in Australia, so please put your hand up for umpiring so you can see how difficult it is, and not sit behind your computer writing shit about referees on hoops. Big tuff person you are