The Bendigo Basketball Association is officiated by referees from the Bendigo Basketball Referees Association (BBRA). The BBRA has some of the most highly credentialed referees in the state who are currently officiating in state and national based competitions. The BBRA also has referees just learning the game just like our players. in 2016 the BBRA and the Scoretable and statisticians’ groups joined together to create the Bendigo Technical Officials Group. The Technical Officials Group is controlled by the Bendigo Technical Officials Committee the committee is made up of members of the Referees, Scoretable and Statisticians as well as two members of the BBA board.
If you would like to become a referee the first step that you should take is contacting Bendigo Basketball Association. The Referee Advisor of Bendigo Basketball Association is responsible for conducting Orientation Level courses for beginning referees. The Beginner Course consists of 6 hours, which includes theory and practical, 2-men mechanics, Theory Examination & on court training with a qualified referee in a real game situation.
All you need is a whistle, rule book and a readiness to learn!
LEVELS OF REFEREES
Once you have successfully completed the Orientation Level course, you are assessed and graded by your Referee Advisor to C Grade and are qualified to officiate domestic competition. Within six to twelve months of gaining your C Grade, you are assessed by the Referee Advisor or appointed referee coaches who may upgrade you to B Grade when you are comfortable and confident with the whistle!
To become an A Grade referee, you must referee at Basketball Victoria Country events and the highest levels of Bendigo Basketball. Once you become A Grade official, you may be nominated by your Referee Advisor to officiate on the Victorian Junior Panel where you will be refereeing the best junior basketballers in the State in the Victoria Junior Championship (VJBL). You will receive regular evaluations on your performance and helpful tips from the most senior educators in Victoria.
You will gain great experience refereeing on the Victorian Junior Panel and it is from here that referees may be nominated to participate in the Junior Country Basketball Cup, or be selected to represent Victoria at Junior Australian and Club Championships.
After completing a year on the Junior Panel and continuing to referee at Basketball Victoria Country events you may receive your Grade 2, referees are the invited to Big V Basketball League. To reach this level is a great achievement and it is possible you may be identified by Basketball Australia to referee at National Junior Championships.
The next step is to progress to Grade 3 and 4 and, based on performance, gain selection onto the National Panel. At the National Panel level, you will be officiating top Australian basketball including the NBL1 South division, Women’s National Basketball League (WNBL) and National Basketball League (NBL) games. Referees who officiate on the National Panel are very good officials and must handle the pressures of top Australian basketball.
Referees who have their International Basketball Federation (FIBA) license, which is the highest obtainable level, may officiate at World Championships and Olympic games.
LEVELS OF SCORETABLE
Just like the referees the Scoretable pathway consists of an orientation course called Level 1. This course is run by an educator from the Victorian Basketball Scoretable Association (VBSA) after completing the course you will be able to score the BIG V competition. There are 5 positions on the Scoretable: Chairperson, Scorer, Assistant Scorer, Timer, 24 operator.
After a season of games, you will be eligible to attend the Level 2 course. This course will open the opportunity to score NBL1 games in Bendigo. Once you have completed your level 2 by receiving 2 evaluations in each of the 5 positions you may be invited by the VBSA to obtain level 3. Level 3 is the highest Victoria qualification. Once you have your Level 3 Basketball Australia may invite you to obtain the highest level a FIBA licence.
LEVELS OF STATISTCIAN
Just like the Scoretable and referees there are several levels of Statisticians. the orientation level is known as level 1. once you have completed 12 months of level one you can attend the level 2 course ran by Basketball Victoria. Unlike Scoretable and Referees Level 2 statisticians can obtain a FIBA licence. There are level 3 statistician, but these positions are held by the highest members of the stats group.
