Gabe Caligiuri, Wheelchair basketball and rugby referee
Issue: Volume 2 Number 2
Refereeing to the top
There’s nothing like a vocal, opinionated crowd to get wheelchair basketball and rugby referee, Gabe Caligiuri, going.
'I love a noisy crowd. There’s nothing like fired up spectators to rev you up. I reckon to make a good official you have to learn to handle it,' Gabe said.
In two decades officiating he’s had his fair share of heckling, but he’s also travelled the world, refereeing at the highest level, forging some lifelong friends along the way.
To his many international mates he’s known as 'Skippy', even though he’s of Italian descent and 'doesn’t look anything like an Aussie'.
'It takes a certain type of person to be a referee and you usually click straight away with other refs. The camaraderie is great and there is a real bond that forms. That’s one of the best parts about doing it. I have friends that are like family.'
Family is all important to Gabe and it’s how he got into refereeing in the first place.
'At the age of 12 my cousin (Sam Fisicaro) contracted polio. As part of his rehab he had to play sport. So some friends and I jumped into wheelchairs alongside him and made up a team.'
A year later he took up the whistle and at 13 was one of the youngest wheelchair basketball officials around.
'I was refereeing guys who’d been playing for years and years and some of them gave me what for. That didn’t deter me at all. I think that’s how I grew such thick skin.'
By the time he was 20, Gabe was getting more serious with his refereeing, expanding to officiate at A grade able-bodied matches, national championships, Country League and the ABA.
His first international experience was the Wheelchair Basketball World Junior Championships in Toronto, Canada in 1997, aged 27. Since then a few achievements not to be sneezed at, Sydney 2000 Paralympics and the most recent World Championships in Japan.
After impressing with the whistle on the basketball court, Gabe was soon under pressure to referee wheelchair rugby as well.
Taking the new challenge in his stride, he had a steep learning curve as far as the rules of rugby went, but he was able to draw on his basic refereeing skills and it wasn’t long before he was more than up to scratch.
'Within six months I got my International licence in New Zealand and then I was off oversees refereeing in the World Wheelchair Rugby Championships in Sweden.'
However, basketball has always remained his first love. The highlights have been many, but refereeing the gold medal game at the World Wheelchair Basketball Championships in Japan and being in charge of a World Cup semi final, which went into double overtime, are amongst the most memorable.
'To see guys in wheelchairs trading three-pointers and hear the buzz of the crowd…that’s fantastic.'
His impressive form during that unforgettable semi ensured he was given the women’s gold medal game to referee.
He recently attended a workshop at the Australian Sports Commission aimed at increasing awareness about the possibilities that exist for officiating disabled sports like wheelchair basketball.
'What many people don’t realise are the opportunities there are in disabled sport. You can get to the top a lot more quickly and get to travel overseas to referee at an international standard, and if you love being an official it doesn’t get much better than that.'
The 33-year-old has made refereeing his life and it’s something he plans to keep on doing for a long while yet.
'I hope to do it until I’m in my 60s. I may not be able to keep doing wheelchair basketball because it is so quick, but then I’ll switch to wheelchair rugby.'
And right behind him all the way will be his family.
'My wife Meagan is my backbone. She supports me all the way. It’s hard for her sometimes as I am away a lot. If you add it up I was probably away for two months altogether this year.'
Meagan knew what she was going to be in for from the start, the couple having met on the basketball court. She was coaching her cousin’s team and he was umpiring the grand final they were playing in.
There’s little doubt their children, three-year-old Jesse James and two-year-old Madelyn, will be involved in basketball in some way.
'Jesse James already mimics me blowing fouls and doing the hand signals.'
Based in South Morang in Victoria, Gabe puts in plenty of time making sure he’s physically fit and mentally sharp, keeping on top of rule changes.
His best piece of advice to those wanting to make it as an official in any sport is to have lots of drive and above all plenty of enthusiasm.
'You’ve got to show your love for the sport. You get selected on the basis of performance, but also passion. That’s what sets you apart.'
As for the most important part of refereeing wheelchair sports.
'Above all, being fair, but also important is having a good understanding of people’s abilities.'
