Dexter Douglas, President of Guyana Basketball Officials Council (GBOC), said yesterday that the ongoing International Federation of Association Basketball (FIBA)/Caribbean Basketball Council (CBC), ‘Referees Online Training Programme, is ideal for aspiring referees as well as coaches and players.
This was disclosed during an exclusive interview with Stabroek Sport yesterday. According to Douglas, the course which is being conducted via the internet due to the Covid-19 situation, is being sectionalized into four modules, spread over the duration of three months.
He disclosed, “It is very helpful to me and any other aspiring referees as well as coaches and players because it is more or less an all-round and in-depth program. It would benefit everyone, and it touches a lot on the new rules and preparing referees for game management and conducting yourself in games when certain situations arise. For aspiring referees, the courses are very important. They are about the new rules FIBA would have implemented and they are giving in-depth understanding on the rules.”
The first module was staged from June 8th-19th and featured the topics of Travelling, Unsportsmanlike Foul, Block/Charge and Communication.
He opined that the several of the topics especially the Travelling rule, are being adjusted to align similarly with the NBA interpretation, further suggesting that the rule alteration could be influenced by the fact that several notable NBA players have been participating internationally in FIBA tournaments, which is a big boost for the association.
The second module will start on June 25th and will conclude on July 6th. The subjects for the second module are Back Court, Mental Skills, Individual Officiating, Act of Shooting, and Ball Control. July 14th-25th will be the timeline for the third module which will feature subjects such as Three Person Officiating, Basket Interference, Introduction of Knowledge, Contact Criteria and Game Tempo.
The final module will occur from August 3rd-14th, and will consist of Coaches, Players and Referees Relationship, Flopping Post Play, Fitness and Nutrition, Special Situation and Game Summary.
He further said, “At the end of all these modules, we will be required to do a test. It will be 25 questions to be answered in 60 seconds whether true or false. After all modules we are tested as well. Officials from Linden, New Amsterdam, Kwakwani and Bartica have been contacted on the availability to enter the course, and it’s safe to say they have participants from all four of the regions.”
Douglas further disclosed, “When this is all finished, the GABF wants me to compile everything and do a seminar on the same information, because not everyone would have had access to the internet to be on the course.”
