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12/05/2021
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Webinars become a vital tool in the learning process for FIBA referees

MIES (Switzerland) - FIBA continues to take advantage of the current virtual landscape by delivering important instruction and insight to referees via numerous webinars. 

There were 15 webinars held from January to April this year, with 10 dedicated for FIBA Elite Program referees, five open sessions and three webinars specifically dedicated to women's officiating. The webinars proved to be a big success, with more than 4,000 registered participants.

"Over the past few months FIBA and its Regional Offices have organized online sessions for current FIBA Game Officials and those who are generally interested in officiating," said Carl Jungebrand, FIBA Head of Refereeing. "We have been actively using this current opportunity to share knowledge and to prepare for the upcoming competitions in 2021."

There have been various topics covered throughout these webinars, like preparation for competition (physical, psychological, rule knowledge), decision making, concentration and attention, communication, pre-game preparation, game review, basketball knowledge and emotional control.

Numerous presenters were involved. The open webinar held on April 22 for female officials, which focused on motivation and inspiration, had accomplished referees Lauren Holtkamp-Sterling, Maj Forsberg and Ozlem Yalman as speakers.

Ozlem Yalman at the FIBA Women's EuroBasket 2019

Holtkamp-Sterling has officiated in the NBA for many years while Forsberg refereed at major WNBA and FIBA games and has been nominated for the upcoming Olympic Games. Yalman refereed the Final of the EuroLeague Women this year and often officiates main FIBA games. She is the only female referee in the Basketball Champions League in Europe.

The speakers for the pre-game preparation webinar were the referees of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 Final in China: Cristiano Maranho, Yohan Rosso and Steven Anderson. Each shared insight into the crew's pre-game preparation.

Steven Anderson at the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019

FIBA Referee Instructors, other FIBA and NBA referees and external experts, including some from the NCAA, also spoke during the webinars produces over the past few months.

Over the coming months,  May through July, there will be a continuation of open webinars, and those dedicated to the Elite Program Referees, which will have a deeper focus on the preparation for competitions taking place this year. This will include the four FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments, the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and both the men's and women's FIBA U19 Basketball World Cups.

FIBA