Games, Games, Games
My schedule in Rio has given me 6 games in 5 days, all of which are now complete. I'm not going to go into huge detail about the games, however I aim to give you a flavour of what has been involved, along with my thoughts and feelings after each one.
Friday 9th September: Canada vs Netherlands (Men)
You've (probably) already read about my first game, which was one of the later fixtures on the schedule. Next up was a men's game at 6pm, giving me time to explore the village.
Canada, the defending Paralympic champions, were up against Netherlands. It was an extremely physical and relatively
low-scoring game, won by Netherlands in the end.
My first experience in the Carioca Arena, and what a truly stunning venue it was. The crowd was huge, loud and created a truly superb atmosphere since they were sitting close to the court.
This was also the game that the Brazilian TV network decided was going to be broadcast live across Brazil. No pressure there then!
Saturday 10th September: Spain vs Turkey (Men) and USA vs China (Women)
It was my turn for the double-header of games on Saturday and it started with an absolute cracker. Spain and Turkey are two very well matched teams who play in a similar style. My colleagues and I were ready for 'El Classico' and it did not let us down. Turkey won with a 3-point shot with less than a minute left in the game, but I'm pretty sure that neither team were ahead by more than 4 points for the entire game.
The arena was virtually full and at one point I got goose-bumps all down my arms and the back of my neck as a Mexican wave started during some free-throws and continued going round and round for at least 3 minutes, getting louder and louder with each completed circuit.
My second game on Saturday was USA vs China. I had a six hour gap in between the games and managed to explore the Paralympic Park for the first time (more on that in a different post). It was nice to get away from basketball for a bit, but dressed in my formal-wear, I stuck out like a sore thumb. The number of people asking for photos or directions was really surprising!
Friday 9th September: Canada vs Netherlands (Men)
You've (probably) already read about my first game, which was one of the later fixtures on the schedule. Next up was a men's game at 6pm, giving me time to explore the village.
Canada, the defending Paralympic champions, were up against Netherlands. It was an extremely physical and relatively
low-scoring game, won by Netherlands in the end.
My first experience in the Carioca Arena, and what a truly stunning venue it was. The crowd was huge, loud and created a truly superb atmosphere since they were sitting close to the court.
This was also the game that the Brazilian TV network decided was going to be broadcast live across Brazil. No pressure there then!
Saturday 10th September: Spain vs Turkey (Men) and USA vs China (Women)
It was my turn for the double-header of games on Saturday and it started with an absolute cracker. Spain and Turkey are two very well matched teams who play in a similar style. My colleagues and I were ready for 'El Classico' and it did not let us down. Turkey won with a 3-point shot with less than a minute left in the game, but I'm pretty sure that neither team were ahead by more than 4 points for the entire game.
The arena was virtually full and at one point I got goose-bumps all down my arms and the back of my neck as a Mexican wave started during some free-throws and continued going round and round for at least 3 minutes, getting louder and louder with each completed circuit.
My second game on Saturday was USA vs China. I had a six hour gap in between the games and managed to explore the Paralympic Park for the first time (more on that in a different post). It was nice to get away from basketball for a bit, but dressed in my formal-wear, I stuck out like a sore thumb. The number of people asking for photos or directions was really surprising!
This game wasn't as close as Spain vs Turkey, but needed just as much concentration (if not more). When refereeing really close games, it is sometimes easier to maintain focus because there is so much going on. When games have a large points spread, referees can sometimes lose concentration briefly - this is when problems often occur.
In all of my games, one personal area of focus for me was to focus on the game and not the crowd / atmosphere, to maintain concentration. 99% of the time I managed it, but I must admit that I between quarters, half time etc I stole a glance up to the stands, soaking in every moment, picturing the colour, banners, flags and amazement on the faces of the Brazilian people who had wholeheartedly embraced the game of wheelchair basketball.
In all of my games, one personal area of focus for me was to focus on the game and not the crowd / atmosphere, to maintain concentration. 99% of the time I managed it, but I must admit that I between quarters, half time etc I stole a glance up to the stands, soaking in every moment, picturing the colour, banners, flags and amazement on the faces of the Brazilian people who had wholeheartedly embraced the game of wheelchair basketball.
Aside from the Mexican waves, another image that will stick with me for a very long time is when all of the crowd were asked to turn on the lights/flashes on their phones. Thousands of little floating fairies suddenly appeared, bobbing in time to the music played by the DJ in the arena, reminiscent of the opening ceremony a few days before.
Sunday 11th September: Canada vs Japan (Men)
The reigning champions vs the hosts of the next Paralympic Games in 2020. Neither team had found much success in Rio thus far, and neither team were able to qualify for the knockout stages. Pride was certainly up for grabs though, and it was Japan who emerged victorious.
Again, there was a great crowd in the arena for the last session of the day (and Saturday and Sunday saw higher attendances than ANY of the days of Olympic competition the previous month!)
Monday 12th September: USA vs Algeria (Women)
My final game assignment at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games. The first game of the day on the last day of group-stage competition. USA were always going to win this, but the most pleasing thing for me was that even though the USA had the firepower to beat them by 100 points, the coach rotated her bench, gave all of the players a chance and won by 50 in a true testament of sportsmanship. I even spoke to the American coach after the game and thanked her for the way in which the game was played.
Algeria deserve a huge amount of credit too - I refereed their first game as well as their last game, and the visible improvement was profound. They were always going to find the step up to this level tough, but they played with such resilience, team spirit and effort that I'm sure they will head home feeling very happy with how they acquitted themselves.
And so it was over before I knew it. 6 games in 5 days and I'd have gladly worked 2 games every day. Before flying out to Rio, I was nervous as to whether I could perform and referee at the level required at a tournament such as this. It took me a couple of games to get into the flow, but by the time I completed my final game, a song from a TV advert popped into my head...
Sunday 11th September: Canada vs Japan (Men)
The reigning champions vs the hosts of the next Paralympic Games in 2020. Neither team had found much success in Rio thus far, and neither team were able to qualify for the knockout stages. Pride was certainly up for grabs though, and it was Japan who emerged victorious.
Again, there was a great crowd in the arena for the last session of the day (and Saturday and Sunday saw higher attendances than ANY of the days of Olympic competition the previous month!)
Monday 12th September: USA vs Algeria (Women)
My final game assignment at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games. The first game of the day on the last day of group-stage competition. USA were always going to win this, but the most pleasing thing for me was that even though the USA had the firepower to beat them by 100 points, the coach rotated her bench, gave all of the players a chance and won by 50 in a true testament of sportsmanship. I even spoke to the American coach after the game and thanked her for the way in which the game was played.
Algeria deserve a huge amount of credit too - I refereed their first game as well as their last game, and the visible improvement was profound. They were always going to find the step up to this level tough, but they played with such resilience, team spirit and effort that I'm sure they will head home feeling very happy with how they acquitted themselves.
And so it was over before I knew it. 6 games in 5 days and I'd have gladly worked 2 games every day. Before flying out to Rio, I was nervous as to whether I could perform and referee at the level required at a tournament such as this. It took me a couple of games to get into the flow, but by the time I completed my final game, a song from a TV advert popped into my head...
Can I referee at this level?
YES I CAN!
YES I CAN!