BRA - First women to call Brazilian men’s final

Brazil (National Championship for Men) – On 30th May, 2008, the Brazilian referee Flávia Renata Almeida became the first woman to call a final game of the National Championship for Men and one of the very few women to ever call a men’s final on a global level.

Beginning of this year, Flavia joined a selected group of female referees at the National Championship for Men. Her performance in 11 previous games of the League was so impressive that Flavia was named to officiate the first game of the finals between Flamengo and Universo.

For Flavia, who had begun her career in 2001, getting to the finals was the best award for a referee, no matter if it was a male or female competition.

“The great responsibility was working in a final game,” she said. “A referee has the same dream than any team: to get to the finals. And this season I worked in both finals: for women, in February, and now in the male competition.”

“For me, it is a very pleasant feeling of a mission accomplished. I had a great season, and I have learned a lot. Now it is time to work in order to improve even more and, who knows, become an international referee in the future.”

Profile

Flávia Renata de Almeida
Date of birth: 31/08/1981
Place of birth: Apucarana / PR
Occupation: Professor of Londrina State University
Regional Referee since 2001
National Referee since 2007
Main competitions:
National Championship for Women (15 games of preliminary round, 2 of quarter-finals, 1 of semifinals, first and last games of finals)
National Championship for Men (8 games of preliminary round, 3 of quarter-finals and first game of finals)

FIBA