Grassroots refs need more support
Issue: Volume 4 Number 1
Queensland referee Scott Butler will be the first Indigenous basketball referee to represent Australia at an Olympics when he takes to the courts in the 2004 Athens Games.
Originally from Rockhampton, Scott moved through the ranks as a referee after starting his basketball career as a player.
For 17 years he’s been refereeing competitive basketball and has been working the National Basketball League for 12 seasons and the Australian Basketball Association for 16 seasons. He has also officiated during the past six NBL finals series.
From a personal perspective there has been a great deal of reward for the amount of effort I’ve put into being a basketball referee, but what concerns me is that those rewards don’t seem to always be there at the local level.
I’ve had many opportunities, but there are many people who work hard at the grass roots in an effort to move up the ranks and the incentive isn’t always there.
There does not seem to be enough money for development programs for officials in local sport. The amount of money available for sport has dropped off since the Sydney Olympics and some sports are really struggling - and basketball is no exception.
They are definitely not struggling in terms of talent because there’s plenty of that in the playing and refereeing ranks.
But what worries me is that we’ll lose some of that potential because there are so many other options for young people in this country these days. If they do not see any prospects in basketball, they will move onto something else. If we do not find some way to keep young people actively involved without pressuring them too much then we risk losing good people.
At an association level, the sport seems to be suffering, as the lines for career development for referees are just not there at the moment. It would appear the funding is not enough to spread across all the areas of sports administration.
Because I recognise that shortfall I’ve been trying to make sure I stay involved in local competitions, to provide a link for any young referees who want to aspire to semi-professional or professional ranks.
I believe my involvement is a mutual obligation and I ought to spend time and effort working with young referees at association level. This is where we all commence our participation in basketball or our chosen sport.
It can be tough because it is such an individual thing and referees don’t have the support of a team around them.
Young referees appreciate the involvement of more experienced officials and those at the elite level. I really enjoy encouraging people to continue to work hard to achieve their goals.
I believe it's important to stay involved in all levels of the sport, and refereeing the local games helps me to stay grounded.
At the elite end, the professionalism and standard of basketball referees has improved dramatically and technology has played a big role in that development.
Having access to game tapes to review performances is vital to improving and developing your skills as a referee. I see technology as an instrument and vehicle that will continue to assist the development of referees into the future.
There are also mentor programs, which can help bring a talented referee up through the ranks. Mentoring from my perspective is more about the human element of refereeing. Having the ability to discuss your views and issues with a mentor personally is a fundamental tool that should be adopted by every referee development program.
But one of my concerns is that these programs only seem to be available at the semi-professional level and above and don’t occur at the grass roots, local or amateur level. For some reason, we do not implement mentor programs extensively at local level, which is where I believe they will have the most substantive impact.
This will by my first Olympics, and while it is a huge honour and I feel very privileged to have been selected to represent Australia, my approach will be very pragmatic.
I treat my refereeing as a job and my outlook is a professional one. That’s not to say I’m not enthusiastic about it, I just take it very seriously.
Refereeing at that level is different to the NBL, where it is more about accuracy. At the international level there’s more of an emphasis on looking after the game and making sure good basketball is played.
Irrespective of what kind of game it is, my goal is to make sure everyone walks away from the game thinking about the game and not me.
It’s been pointed out to me that I will be the first Aboriginal basketball official to attend an Olympics. While I don’t want to make a big deal of that, I’m happy to be a role model for young Indigenous kids from regional towns, because I come from a regional town called Rockhampton.
I’d like them to see that if they work hard enough and want something badly enough they can make it.
Across the board I’d like more people to consider refereeing as a legitimate option if they want to stay in the sport. But there needs to be a good support base there for them.
Being an official can be a lonely job, so support, wherever that may come from, is really helpful.
Teamwork and camaraderie amongst officials is important as those ideals provide a support base for referees which is required. Although it is still important to be competitive amongst your peers the support should always be there as most officials know – often the role you play in sport is heavily scrutinised and you are consistently judged by your last call.
Referees can help themselves too, by taking more care about what they do and gaining a greater understanding of the sport, rather than worrying about being too technical — ultimately that separates the very good officials from the others.
