Brent Bennett and Roger Blackman from the Victorian Basketball Referees Association Altona Branch. 88345 Picture: KRISTIAN SCOTT
By ALESHA CAPONE
FOR the past two decades members of the Victorian Basketball Referees Association Altona Branch have been courtside watching players and monitoring games.
However, on Friday 19 October the VBRAAB members will score a goal of their own during the branch’s 20th anniversary celebrations.
As part of the event the branch will name its top 20 referees of the last decade and give service awards to members who have spent significant time serving the branch.
The branch has produced more than 250 referees across the years and presently has more than 70 members.
One of the group’s longest serving participants Roger Blackman has been a referee for more than 35 years.
“I retired at 60 but have played and coached basketball all my life,” he said.
“What I enjoy most about refereeing is interacting with people and it keeps me in the game.
“For me it’s been a marvellous part of my life.
“I can’t play anymore but I love basketball and I like to continue to be involved with the game.”
Mr Blackman is also a referee’s advisor and has found his basketball skills useful on an international level.
“When teaching in China I found I was able to referee because of the international nature of the game and the bonding with students was just fantastic,” he said.
One of the Victorian Basketball Referees Association Altona Branch’s youngest members is teenager Brent Bennett.
The 14-year-old also plays for the Under-16 Altona Gators Basketball Club and is in his second year of refereeing.
“What I enjoy most about basketball is the people in it,” he said.
VBRAAB, formerly the Altona Bay Basketball Referees Association, will celebrate its anniversary on Friday 19 October.
Contact info@vbraaltona.com.au for more information.
