Learn how to referee basketball

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Officiating Basketball

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Description

Officiating Basketball is designed to assist individuals in becoming a better official and improving the experience for you and the student athletes.  The course covers fouls against the ball handler, screening, post play, block/charge, intentional fouls, technical fouls, and a general overview of characteristics that help to make a person a better official.  Officiating Basketball provides insight into the mechanics of making a correct call and shows examples of high school games to illustrate when calls should be made.

Course Outline

Course comes with

• • Introduction
  • Communication & Professionalism
  • Real Game Examples
• • Fouls Against the Ball Handler
  • Screening
  • Rough Post Play
  • Block/Charge
• • Intentional Fouls
  • Technical Fouls
• • Conclusion

This Course Includes

• Approved for 2 Clock Hours
• Certificate of Completion
• Additional Resources

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How To Referee Basketball

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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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Refereeing in basketball

Basketball

• Historical development

• Rules

• Material support

• Judging

• Technique

• Tactics

• Education and training

• Choosing a basketball

Basketball: judges on the court and the panel of judges.

Basketball matches are officiated by referees. The brigade consists of experienced judges with a clear knowledge of the rules of refereeing and having many years of experience. Judges are guided not only by the postulates of the prescribed rules. The referee is obliged to use common sense in assessing the situation, taking into account the mood and attitude towards the game by the teams.

It's not right to judge professionals and beginners the same way. Newcomers to the game often make many technical mistakes. Only fixing all such errors will greatly slow down the whole game. The fundamental principles in adjudicating rule violations are the basis for building a cohesive game.

The referee must not pause the game unless clearly necessary. Any aggression and rudeness on the court should be stopped immediately, but a player should not be punished with a foul for unintentional contact, especially if it does not give any advantage in a particular game situation. The integrity and direct course of the game depends on the actions and skills of the referee.

The team of referees serving a professional basketball match must include:

Chief referee and site referees.

Two or three referees serve the game to fix errors on the court. They have quite broad powers. The chief referee makes significant decisions on the compliance of equipment, equipment, players' uniforms with the requirements of the rules. In case of serious violations, the Chief Referee may count the defeat. Referees start their duties 20 minutes before the start of the match. During the match, the referees clearly adhere to the rules. The decisions of colleagues are not questioned. The service of the game by the judges on the site is stopped by the sound of the siren.

Secretary and his assistant.

The Secretary is responsible for the correct keeping of the score sheet. Through it, coaches submit applications for participation in the game, containing the data of the players. The maximum number of players per team cannot exceed 12 (5 main and 7 substitutes). Fixing the game score, interacting with the teams if a substitution or timeout is necessary, these are the main duties of the Secretary.

The scorer can only address the referee in a dead ball situation. Control over the number of fouls is also assigned to the Secretary. He brings this information to the judges and teams.

Timekeeper.

A basketball timekeeper must know the referees' gestures well and know the rules of the game. He is obliged to turn on and stop time on the scoreboard in a timely manner, guided by the gestures of the referees (whistle), as well as independently making a decision when putting the ball into play, declared a time-out, breaks, controversial or free throws. In the last quarter, 2 minutes before the end of playing time, the timekeeper stops the countdown after each effective throw.

Shot clock operator.

The main function of the shot clock operator is to enforce the 24 second time rules. It turns on the timer every time the team gets possession of the ball and turns it off when the ball goes out of bounds. The timer is reset after a successfully completed attack or loss of ball control by the team. The timekeeper must reset the possession time to 14 seconds in a situation where a foul is committed on the team in possession of the ball or the ball is taken by the attacking team after an unsuccessful attempt to hit the ring. In this case, the ball must touch the ring itself, and the stopwatch must have any number less than fourteen seconds.

The basic gestures of a basketball referee can be divided into groups in order of importance to the player:

Official basketball referee gestures related to infractions

IMPORTANT! These violations result only in the loss of the ball, without any effect on personal and team fouls.

• Fist rotation - jog

• Movement of the palms of both hands up and down - double guidance

• Half rotation of the palm - carrying the ball

• Finger pointing at the foot - Intentional foot play

• Front hand swing with two fingers - ball returned to the backcourt

• Swinging from the bottom up with an outstretched hand with 3 fingers - 3 seconds

• Show 5 fingers - 3 seconds

• Show 8 fingers - 8 seconds

• Finger touching shoulder - 24 seconds

Official basketball referee gestures related to types of fouls

Fouls are punished for an unauthorized action by a player in relation to another individually, as opposed to violations.

• Wrist interception below - delay

• Palm grip and forward movement - hold with hands

• Both hands on hips - blocking (defensively) or improper screening (offensive)

• Imitation of pushing - pushing or impinging a player without the ball

• Wrist hit - misuse of hands

• Punching to the open hand - Collision of the player with the ball

• Striking with the hand on the other forearm - incorrect contact in the arm

• Movement of the elbow to the side - excessive swinging of the elbow

• The fingers of one hand are clenched into a fist, followed by an indication of the number of free throws - foul in the act of throwing

• The fingers of one hand are clenched into a fist, followed by an indication of the floor - foul not in the process of throwing

• Simulated head contact - blow to the head

• Pointing the fist in the direction of the offending team's basket - foul to the team in control of the ball

Official Basketball Referee Signals, Substitutions and Time Out Signals

• Crossed forearms in front of the chest - replacement for

• Wave towards yourself with the palm of the outstretched hand - invitation to the playground

• Palm and index finger form the letter T - timeout requested

• Arms to the sides with clenched fists - media timeout

Official Basketball referee gestures, scoring gestures

• Raised hand raise one finger, lower the hand down - 1 point

• Raised hand raise two fingers, lower the hand down - 2 points

• Raised hand with three fingers (attempted throw) or raised both hands with three fingers (successful throw) - 3 points

Official basketball referee gestures, informative gestures

• Single bringing and spreading of the hands in front of the chest - cancellation of a hit or play action

• Countdown with open hand movement - Visible Countdown

• Thumb Up - Interaction

• Wrist rotation over head with extended index finger - reset shot clock

• Hand with index finger extended parallel to the touchline - Direction of throw-in and/or throw-in

• Thumbs up of both hands followed by directions - V-ball or throw situation

Official basketball referee gestures, player numbering gestures

• Right hand display of numbers from 1 to 5 - from #1 to #5

• Showing the number 5 with the right hand, and with the left hand from 1 to 5 - from No. 6 to No. 10

• The right hand is clenched into a fist, the left hand shows the numbers from 1 to 5 - from #11 to #15

• First, showing the number for tens with the outside of the brush, then with the palm of the hand the number 0 for units - 40

• First, showing the numbers for tens with the outside of the brush, then with the palm of the hand, the numbers for units - 62

Official Basketball Referee Signals, Special Fouls

• Movement with crossed arms with fists overhead - mutual foul

• Palms form the letter T - technical foul

• Interception of the wrist with a clenched fist at the top - unsportsmanlike foul

• Both hands up with clenched fists - disqualifying foul

Official basketball referee gestures related to the game clock

• Open palm up - stop watch

• One fist above head - stop clock on foul

• Hand down chopping motion - clock activation

Basketball

• Historical development

• Rules

• Material support

• Judging

• Technique

• Tactics

• Education and training

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