THE Guyana Amateur Basketball Federation (GABF) and the Caribbean Basketball Confederation (CBC) yesterday began their referees pre-certification Referees Clinic at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall (CASH). Federation of International Basketball Association (FIBA) Referee Instructor, Glyne Clarke, will be conducting the course which will conclude on Sunday. He was present when the president of the GABF, David Patterson wished the participants all the best during his brief welcome speech.
Speaking with Chronicle Sport before the commencement of the event, Clarke said it’s “basically to bring persons up to date with the changes of the rules that govern the game from 2010 to 2014 and to list aspiring officials”. He said FIBA, through the CBC, is aiming to build its pool of referees in the Caribbean and as such, the course is very important.
“At the end of it, we’ll make recommendations to the CBC and FIBA about the people who have shown that they are ready for that level and to enhance our base. I’ll take them through the FIBA structure, psychology of officiating and so on and then we’ll wrap it up,” Clarke said.
Clarke, who hails from Barbados, labelled the clinic as very important to basketball, stating that “at the end of the year, FIBA will have a referee’s certification course and the recommended persons from these clinics will be the ones whom he’ll expect to see with a date and venue to be set.”