Being a basketball referee can be a fun activity in which someone can also make some extra money. There are many important things to consider when you referee a basketball game. To begin with, it is necessary to know all the rules of the game of basketball, and particular rules of games or leagues that one might be refereeing. Second, it is necessary to know when to apply the rules and how to enforce them, treating players, coaches, fans, and other officials with respect and fairness. Also, it is necessary to have the right equipment referees need to use. Let’s start by taking a look at the basics, what referees:
Table of Contents
What are referees?
What do referees do?
How do officials call a foul or violation?
How to Become a Referee
Referee Equipment List
What are referees?
Referees are a type of official. They control all aspects of the basketball game. There are six different types of officials.
The Crew Chief (x1)
The Referees (x2)
The Official Scorer (x1)
The Trained Timers (x2)
Depending on the game, the number of officials involved in a basketball game can change, but regardless of how many people are working, they must act together to guarantee that the game goes along smoothly and fair.
What do referees do?
Basketball referees must know all the game’s rules and regulations because they are the ones responsible for enforcing them, keeping the final result fair. Referees must call fouls, check for violations, award scores, and keep the game under control. The team of officials must decide what each member will be responsible for doing during a game, or which area of the court they will center their attention on. Sometimes referees will need the assistance of other officials to decide on a call, and thus they may have to gather and talk about the play. All that is so that the fairest outcome is achieved, and to make sure the game is being played within the rules.
Some of the violations called by referees include:
Traveling / Walking
Double Dribble
Goaltending
Carrying
3-second violation
5-second violation
10-second violation
Technical Fouls
Personal Fouls
How do officials call a foul or violation?
When an official spots a violation, his or her will blow a whistle to indicate that the action must be stopped. Naturally, everyone’s attention will turn to referee who blew the whistle, in this where another part of being a referee comes in; referees must signal what violation was committed and by who. To do that, referees do signals with their hands and arms, therefore, all referees must know the signs, their meaning, and when to do them.
Being a referee is not easy. It is impossible to please everyone or get every call right, so referees will often face confrontation from fans, players, coaches, and even parents. It is important for referees to not let missed calls or complaints influence on other calls throughout the game. If that happens, people start to question decisions more often, the referee loses credibility, and the game becomes chaos, because players and coaches of both sides will be talking too much to referee. To not let that happen, referees must make every call with confidence, and with a body language that shows that. Even if referees are not sure if a call they made was actually the right one, they gotta act as if they were 100% certain, not giving players and coaches room to complain more than necessary. However, that must be done while keeping composure and respecting everyone involved with the game. If the situation gets out of hand, referees can rely on technical fouls to control the nerves on the court.
How to Become a Referee
Referees are required in basketball games of all levels, without them there is no organized basketball. Regardless of the level of basketball you want to referee (youth, college, NBA), you have to start from the bottom. Many recreational centers require referees to youth games, and that is a good place to start. A good idea is also to become a member of the National Association of Sport Officials, they do trainings and can certainly help you become a better referee. Starting from the bottom, you can work your way until becoming a full-time referee for the NBA, or simply have some fun officiating local high school games.
Referee Equipment List
There are quite a few pieces of equipment that basketball referees must have in order to do their job. Take a look at them here:
Black athletic shoes
Black athletic socks
Black beltless slacks
Striped black and white shirt
Good, loud whistle
PRO TIP: When purchasing your equipment, remember that you are going to be running and sweating while working, so buy comfortable and light clothes.
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How to Become a Recreational Basketball Referee | Work
By Steve Milano Updated September 16, 2021
Becoming a recreational basketball referee can be a rewarding hobby and earn you extra cash while you have fun. The requirements for becoming a basketball ref vary by league but usually require taking a test to prove you know the rules. You might also be tested on your physical fitness.
Taking a course or earning certification prepares you for the role, so you avoid blowing calls during games. Like other sports officials, you might also need to carry liability insurance. Youth league referees might be required to pass a background check.
Check Out Leagues
The first step to becoming a recreational basketball ref is to contact the league or leagues where you want to ref. You must follow their rules for qualifying as a ref, and they will tell you how to go about getting approved. The simplest route to getting started is typically to go through a youth basketball referee training program.
If possible, go to some games at these leagues and watch how the refs work. Introduce yourself to the refs and tell them you’re interested in becoming a referee. Not only can they tell you what you need to do to be approved, but they can also give you tips on what to expect during games, what your schedule might be, and other helpful information.
Contact Training or Certifying Bodies
Once you’ve contacted the league or leagues and know what you need to do to qualify, contact the certifying body the league requires you to join. If you don’t need to be certified, but need to pass a test, contact the company that administers the test.
Begin preparing for the test or course. Visit the training website and get any printed materials you need to start studying. Sign up for the certification test or find out when the referee test takes place. Take a look at some basic rules of the game at Smart Healthy Living to see what you’ll be expected to know. Check out the internet for additional books and CDs available for home study.
Get in Shape
Refereeing requires you to run up and down a basketball court for 30 minutes to an hour, depending on the league you work for. Even if you’re planning on working for a half-court league, you need to run side to side and back and forth at high speed.
Focus on anaerobic conditioning after you do a couple of weeks of aerobic conditioning. Basketball is a start-and-stop sport, and you need to be able to recover and catch your breath after each bout of exercise. To do this, get in shape using high-intensity interval training or sprint training. Schedule a physical exam before you start training and tell your doctor that you’ll be doing high-intensity interval training.
In addition to getting your cardiovascular system in shape, do muscular endurance exercises so you can use your muscles for long periods without cramping. Use circuit-training workouts that consist of two minutes of a lightly weighted exercise or calisthenics, followed by 30 seconds of rest and then another round of exercise. Focus on your lower body and make stretching, speed and flexibility part of your training, recommends Referee.com.
Take a Practice Test
If possible, practice what you’ll be tested on to earn your certification or approval. Hire another referee to take you through a practice test. Watch online videos of referee tests and copy what you see being presented. See if your certifying or training company offers a pretest practice run you can participate in.
References
Smart Healthy Living: Basic Basketball Rules for Novice Parents and Players
Referee: Proactive Steps for Officials to Prevent Injuries During Season
Writer Bio
Steve Milano is a journalist and business executive/consultant. He has helped dozens of for-profit companies and nonprofits with their marketing and operations. Steve has written more than 8,000 articles during his career, focusing on small business, careers, personal finance and health and fitness. Steve also turned his tennis hobby into a career, coaching, writing, running nonprofits and conducting workshops around the globe.
Information on how to develop skills for beginner basketball referees
The situation in our basketball is such that there are problems not only with the emergence of new competitive players and coaches, but also with referees. Our arbitrators are currently practically absent at the top world and continental championships.
I have heard questions more than once, and the site periodically receives requests about how to become a representative of this profession in Russia? Where to start, where to study, how to get practice, and then a license and appointments for serious matches and improve your skills? Today we will try to sort out these issues. Not everyone can become professional players and coaches, but wants to stay in basketball, so why not take the refereeing path.
First, let's decide on a license. It is issued for 1 year and is required only for servicing matches of the Russian Championship. To get it, you need to pass 3 exams:
1. Basketball Rules and Interpretations (at least 20 correct answers must be given for 25 questions). 2. Regulations of the championship and superiority of Russia. 3. Metronome physical fitness test.
Top judges, and there are about 120 of them, who regularly serve the championships of the Premier League, Super League (women and men), pass the rules twice a year, and physical training - the Metronome test 1 time. Those. if they take a regional seminar in the fall, they are admitted to the central seminar, and they take the same exams there. Those who successfully pass them receive a license for a year.
In January, a central off-season seminar is held, which highlights changes in the rules, corrects mistakes, sets some criteria and passes a theoretical exam only according to the rules and a running standard for physical training "Metronome" for field judges. If the current judge does not pass the winter exam, then he is not allowed to the second half of the season. Such cases happen.
Where to start? It is necessary, of course, to start with city competitions - first for children, then for students, for adults. In many regions there are Schools of the Young Arbiter, where classes are held free of charge. Novice judges go through a certain course and then, over time, begin to be attracted to the games of the children's championship of the city. After a person gains experience and practice, the referee committee of the regional federation recommends him to the championship of Russia, but there is also a selection system that allows children to referee competitions Championships of Russia. Further step by step, year after year on the way to the Super League, Premier League, VTB League. and FIBA.
Where to get knowledge? One of the sites that is suitable for obtaining up-to-date theoretical knowledge on basketball refereeing is ReferyPro. ru . This information portal contains the latest information on refereeing in Russia and the world. There are a lot of interesting and multifaceted things there: methodological materials, rules, video clips and recordings of seminars. The official representation of VKONTAKTE of this unique basketball portal for beginners, professional referees, as well as for all basketball fans is located at vk.com/referypro . The ReferyPro website was created by the School of Young Referees (SMA), headed by its leader - an international category referee and the head of the educational and methodological commission of the refereeing department of the RFB Fedor Borisovich Dmitriev with the support of the Moscow Regional Basketball Federation (MOFB).
In what regions are SMAs held? In addition to Moscow and the Moscow region - this is St. Petersburg, Samara, Pskov, Omsk, Izhevsk, Novosibirsk, Kaluga, Khabarovsk, Rostov, Krasnodar, Voronezh, Yekaterinburg and some other cities. In particular, in Moscow, free lessons are held on Tuesdays. In the Moscow region - on Tuesdays, Fridays at the Moscow Basketball Federation or at games. But all this is still functioning separately, there is no centralized and organized work yet. A number of European countries already have well-established training programs for judges, while we are only on the way to this.
What is our representation in Europe? Last year we had about 15 FIBA referees. This includes 12 FIBA referees from Russia. Two years ago, the Euroleague was served by three judges: Semen Ovinov, Ilya Putenko and Alexey Davydov. Then only Semyon remained, although he gets more Eurocup matches. In addition, FIBA has now changed the system. It has become similar to football - the national federation, by its rating, together with FIBA, determines the circle of referees who are worthy to work at FIBA matches. They must comply with the requirements of the European, national championship and have no violations.
What refereeing events are coming up? In the near future there will be a departure of young judges for a seminar in Sweden by a delegation of 12 people. It will be a ScaniaCup tournament. In May, the educational and methodological commission of the Department of Professional Refereeing, together with the Moscow Regional Basketball Federation, will hold two camps on the basis of the championship of the Moscow Region among boys and girls at the sports base in Pokrovsky. Judges will be invited from all regions of Russia, as well as from Belarus, maybe from Kazakhstan. This will be the 10th such camp in 4 years. In June-July, there will be a trip to the clinic of referees in the NBA or the NCAA. Fedor Dmitriev, together with one of our judges, will go to study and exchange experience with those who hold this event. This will be part of the work of the educational and methodological commission. This happened already in 2016. Plus, in June, at the invitation of the Basketball Federation of Kazakhstan, for the third time a large camp is planned in Astana to work mainly with young referees. There will be 4 days of workshop and 3 days of work on the site with feedback and video analysis of each judge.
Fedor Dmitriev shared about the work of the School of the Young Arbiter and his mission:
“Now it is most relevant and effective for me to work with young people - from 14 to 25-30 years old. To lead the continuity of generations and prepare young cadres in the right direction, who will be chosen by the federation to serve the matches of the National Championship. Recently, together with Evgeny Ostrovsky and Alexey Davydov, we successfully passed the exams for the FIBA national instructor. Therefore, we would like to pass on the knowledge we have gained to the next generations. As the chairman of the WMC and the head of the School of the Young Arbiter of the Moscow Region, I consider it my task not only to competently educate young people, but also to control the correct implementation. Now I am adjusting my training program in order to involve young guys more, so that they not only listen, but do it themselves under our control. This is the most basic thing at this time, and this is what FIBA is now demanding.
We try to set the required criteria so that they understand the difference between the mentalities of a Russian person and a European. After all, it is important not only to know the rules of refereeing, you need to correctly apply them. FIBA itself is constantly engaged in the training program for young referees, but we need to adapt their recommendations to our country in accordance with the requirements of European and international competitions.”
The best young judges from all regions of the country travel to Prifib clinics - seminars throughout the year. Now the Department of Professional Refereeing has developed a mentoring program, according to which 10 young referees from the TOP-50 best referees in Russia by rating are assigned mentors from among five current FIBA referees.
Each year, the educational and methodological commission prepares two manuals for various types of training of judges: psychological, physical, psycho-physiological; on communication and interaction; methodological recommendations and practical advice. 6 such manuals have already been issued. We get positive feedback from them. it is useful and we will move in that direction.
Another important task that faces us as teachers who should train referees is to develop and shape simple human qualities so that the referee, in addition to fixing fouls and violations, can understand basketball, the profession and the complexity of the work of the coach and players. In a word - be human! This is very relevant at the present time."
Related
What is our representation in Europe? Last year we had about 15 FIBA referees. This includes 12 FIBA referees from Russia. Two years ago, the Euroleague was served by three judges: Semen Ovinov, Ilya Putenko and Alexey Davydov. Then only Semyon remained, although he gets more Eurocup matches. In addition, FIBA has now changed the system. It has become similar to football - the national federation, by its rating, together with FIBA, determines the circle of referees who are worthy to work at FIBA matches. They must meet the requirements of the European, national championship and have no violations.
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On December 9, a cycle of online seminars for beginner basketball referees ended at the Yunost sports complex in Vladivostok. For four days, experienced referees shared their knowledge with their large audience through the Zoom platform. How to become a professional in refereeing, do you need to be a qualified basketball player for this, where to go and where to start, the founder of the training, RFB judge Sergei Strokach told our correspondent.
— Tell us in more detail what kind of online seminars did you conduct and what are they for?
- We covered topics such as "how to become a basketball referee", "statistician", "field referee" and "scorer referee". More than 60 people came to our lectures, however, only 20 came at the appointed time. Someone took the course of the “young fighter”, someone consolidated their knowledge base. In 2020, FIBA (International Basketball Federation) changed some rules, so this online training was useful for both beginners and experts.
Who are these people?
- These are schoolchildren who live for basketball and are simply passionate about the game, and physical education teachers, and coaches, and novice referees. I am glad that not only Vladivostok residents took part, but also residents of other cities of Primorsky Krai.
View this post on Instagram
— Can anyone become a judge?
— Judging is not difficult, but judging well is not easy. Anyone can become an arbitrator. But professionally, there are limitations. If before the age of 35 he did not referee the games of at least the Basketball Superleague-2, then the path of the pros is closed further. It will be possible to serve only local and regional championships, as well as matches of the ASB student league.
— What kind of knowledge do you need to have for this? Or does it matter, everything will be taught?
— I don't know a single referee who hasn't played basketball even a little bit. There are many examples when the level of the player was not high and the career ended early enough, but they are good referees and professionals in their field. In any case, you need to be at least a little basketball player to understand the essence of what is happening on the court. Simple interactions that are taught in childhood and at school are enough.
View this post on Instagram
—If I want to become a judge and work in court, then I need to graduate from law school, etc. Where do you need to go to become a referee in basketball?
- To start this journey, you need to contact your coach or the federation, you can also contact the judges directly. You can write to me. If someone from your audience is really interested, then welcome to the direct - @sergeyfbv.
— And how much time do you need to devote to learning?
- Just like at the university. Everywhere you need practice, constant improvement. It is possible to judge in the first year, but they become good judges at the local level after five years, when they already have accumulated experience and knowledge behind them, it is unlikely to work out faster. To become a professional, you need to pass a judging seminar in Vladivostok or Khabarovsk and get access to judging competitions under the auspices of the RFB. Then the structure is as follows: you go through all six stages - from children's and youth tournaments to the men's Super League and the women's Premier League. And this is also five years. The sooner you start, the better. Ideally, by the age of 18 you can already referee the matches of the RFB.
— How is the situation with judges in Primorye?
— At the moment there is no mass work with judges in the region. Usually secretaries are taught how to properly record the game.
All that is so that the fairest outcome is achieved, and to make sure the game is being played within the rules.
It is important for referees to not let missed calls or complaints influence on other calls throughout the game. If that happens, people start to question decisions more often, the referee loses credibility, and the game becomes chaos, because players and coaches of both sides will be talking too much to referee. To not let that happen, referees must make every call with confidence, and with a body language that shows that. Even if referees are not sure if a call they made was actually the right one, they gotta act as if they were 100% certain, not giving players and coaches room to complain more than necessary. However, that must be done while keeping composure and respecting everyone involved with the game. If the situation gets out of hand, referees can rely on technical fouls to control the nerves on the court. 
Many recreational centers require referees to youth games, and that is a good place to start. A good idea is also to become a member of the National Association of Sport Officials, they do trainings and can certainly help you become a better referee. Starting from the bottom, you can work your way until becoming a full-time referee for the NBA, or simply have some fun officiating local high school games. 
The requirements for becoming a basketball ref vary by league but usually require taking a test to prove you know the rules. You might also be tested on your physical fitness.
Not only can they tell you what you need to do to be approved, but they can also give you tips on what to expect during games, what your schedule might be, and other helpful information.
Even if you’re planning on working for a half-court league, you need to run side to side and back and forth at high speed.
Not everyone can become professional players and coaches, but wants to stay in basketball, so why not take the refereeing path. 
If the current judge does not pass the winter exam, then he is not allowed to the second half of the season. Such cases happen. 
ru . This information portal contains the latest information on refereeing in Russia and the world. There are a lot of interesting and multifaceted things there: methodological materials, rules, video clips and recordings of seminars. The official representation of VKONTAKTE of this unique basketball portal for beginners, professional referees, as well as for all basketball fans is located at vk.com/referypro . The ReferyPro website was created by the School of Young Referees (SMA), headed by its leader - an international category referee and the head of the educational and methodological commission of the refereeing department of the RFB Fedor Borisovich Dmitriev with the support of the Moscow Regional Basketball Federation (MOFB). 
In particular, in Moscow, free lessons are held on Tuesdays. In the Moscow region - on Tuesdays, Fridays at the Moscow Basketball Federation or at games. But all this is still functioning separately, there is no centralized and organized work yet. A number of European countries already have well-established training programs for judges, while we are only on the way to this. 
There will be 4 days of workshop and 3 days of work on the site with feedback and video analysis of each judge. 
This is the most basic thing at this time, and this is what FIBA is now demanding. 
6 such manuals have already been issued. We get positive feedback from them. it is useful and we will move in that direction. 
The first day July 24, 2021 
For four days, experienced referees shared their knowledge with their large audience through the Zoom platform. How to become a professional in refereeing, do you need to be a qualified basketball player for this, where to go and where to start, the founder of the training, RFB judge Sergei Strokach told our correspondent. 
I am glad that not only Vladivostok residents took part, but also residents of other cities of Primorsky Krai. 
There are many examples when the level of the player was not high and the career ended early enough, but they are good referees and professionals in their field. In any case, you need to be at least a little basketball player to understand the essence of what is happening on the court. Simple interactions that are taught in childhood and at school are enough. 
