Sport
6 March, 2023
Morayfield basketballers earn black and white stripes
GRACE Flanagan and Sophie Norton are the newest additions to the referee squad at the Moreton Bays Suns Basketball club.
They join close to 50 other young referees who have taken advantage of their basketball knowledge to referee junior games.
Year 10 student, Grace, started playing basketball two years ago and said she decided to take up referring as a way to learn more about the game.
“I was quite new to basketball and I wanted to catch up with everyone else and learn a bit more about the game.”
She said that to get her black and white stripes she had to attend a couple of courses and “shadow” other referees.
Jackson Hinze started playing basketball when he was just six years old.
After six years in the game, Jackson is now also refereeing.
“I saw some of my friends doing it and I wanted to do it too,” he said.
After referring for a couple of seasons, Cody Dumbell has recently been promoted to an educator, tasked with teaching the other referees.
Cody said that all referees start by completing a level one course and then can work their way up from there.
Moreton Bay Suns referee coordinator Lachlan Egan is responsible for rostering the 50 referees and supporting the club’s seven educators.
Lachlan said refereeing is great for the young players as they not only learn more about the game, but also develop a lot of life skills from it, such as handling conflict and having confidence.
