Basketball England’s Officiating Advisory Group met for the first time in Manchester last weekend, aiming to deliver on the organisation’s Officiating Plan and address a number of key issues for table officials, referees and statisticians.
With 10 members of the group present, including Team England and GB Senior Women’s Assistant Coach Vanessa Ellis, BBL Referee Supervisor and FIBA Commissioner Martin Ford, former Technical Advisor of the Referee Department for Euroleague and Basketball England Board member Alan Richardson and current Euroleague Director of Officiating Richard Stokes, the group brought together a wealth of experience and perspectives to make some significant progress.
Basketball England’s lead for the group, Delivery Manager Simon Unsworth, introduced a number of topics for discussion. One was the introduction and roll out of Basketball England’s “REDD” programme for officiating. Covering recruitment, education, deployment and development, the programme underpins the goals and strategy of the Officiating Plan in the short, medium and long term.
Basketball England’s Delivery Manager Simon Unsworth said, “With the Officiating Game Plan launched and initiatives already underway, it was great to have this first meeting to share progress and get the group’s perspective on a number of future ideas. A lot was covered throughout the day and it was a very positive first step.”
Along with the REDD programme, other items on the agenda included the development and refinement of the Match Officials Handbook, expense levels for officials, general officiating numbers across different areas of the country, the upskilling of tutors and instructors and the current officiating pathway, plus the qualifications within it.
With plenty on the agenda, much discussion had and significant scope for future work, the group is set to meet again in January and April 2019. Members will now be tasked with working within their specific networks to gather further information on specific topics before the new year.
