Basketball Victoria is launching a campaign specifically targeted at the basketball community to provide an appropriate environment for our referees under the age of 18.

Highlighting Referees Under the age of 18

Basketball Victoria expects that all referees are respected, however acknowledges that making more of an effort to behave appropriately around referees who are children is essential to their wellbeing. Unfortunately, we cannot tell if a referee is over or under the age of 18 just by looking at them or by judging their ability, so we have created a simple identifier- the Green Whistle.

General Manager of Technical Officials Jo Chu explains, “Victoria is privileged to have very talented referees who just happen to be under the age of 18, similair to our talented athletes under the age of 18. Our responsibility is to ensure we protect our young people to safeguard the future success of our sport”.

Basketball Victoria’s Landscape

Within Basketball Victoria's referee cohort, over 50% are under the age of 18. Therefore it is inevitable that some of these children are being exposed and subject to negative behavior in an environment that is meant to be safe and supportive. Adults that lose perspective in a competitive environment can have harmful effects on the participants, specifically those who are under the age of 18.

Community sport relies heavily on referees under the age of 18 both from an economic and logistical point of view. If we relied on adults only to referee games, we would have to increase the cost to participants significantly. We also know that we don’t have access to enough adults to service the 450,000 games Victoria hosts at a community level each year.

Understanding that we rely on referees under the age of 18 to allow us to enjoy the sport we love means we have a strong responsibility to ensure they are protected and feel safe.

The Role of the Referee

The role of the referee is very important, and the expectation of them to know the rules, apply them accurately and then communicate is extremely high. Unfortunately, when these expectations aren’t met, therefore players, coaches and spectators too oftem lose their ability to self-regulate and act out in a negative way.

Trained and accredited referee coaches provide the feedback and coaching required for the development of referees. It’s critical that the key messages provided by trusted mentors and educators aren’t drowned out or obscured by negative behaviour. Allowing referee coaches to coach and allowing referees to referee without distraction or hindrance leads to improved performance, a safe environment, and a better experience for everyone.

Negative Behaviour

There are two types of negative behaviour that we are concerned with for our Under 18 referees. The first is negative behaviour directed towards the Under 18 referee. This can be extremely confronting for the child and may also cause them to feel threatened or intimidated. The second is negative behaviour displayed in the vicinity of the Under 18 referee. This can be uncomfortable for the child to witness and also may challenge what they consider appropriate behaviour, especially if it occurs frequently.

Positive Role Models

Jo Chu also states, “Society understands that those under the age of 18 can be easily influenced so our desire is to have them influenced by positive role models and incredible sports people. I encourage each of you to lead the way in ensuring that when you do see a referee whose whistle is green, you contribute positively to the environment they are in.”

There are many ways in which you can contribute positively to those referees under the age of 18 including but not limited to:

Communicate to the U18 referee what a great job they did as this will make them feel proud and want to continue.
Cheer positively for both teams competing as this will create an environment filled with great sportsmanship.
Call out others who may be behaving poorly as this will help create an environment where we help each other self-regulate.
Comment to others what a great job the young referees did to continue to highlight how important they are to the sport we love.

IF THEIR WHISTLE IS GREEN, THEY ARE UNDER 18

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