Getting On The Floor
And so it has started. The reason I'm here. Grey shirt, whistle, 10 players, 1 ball and 2 colleagues on the floor with me. Let's just put to one side for a moment the thousands of crazy, passionate spectators (who are greatly outnumbering the Olympic crowds!) - more on them later.
Preparing for my first game was a strange experience. On the first day of competition, I had been nominated to the penultimate game at 9pm local time - Algeria vs China women in the Rio Olympic Arena. Having to wait a full 14 hours from breakfast didn't really help settle my nerves, but it DID give me the opportunity to get into the arenas and watch a few games, soaking up the atmosphere to find ways of reducing the 'rabbit-in-headlights' type effect of bright lights, loud music and screaming spectators that I might encounter when stepping on court for the first time.
Packing my bag was also a surprisingly difficult process - I kept on doubting that I had packed everything I needed and had to check at least twice, before deciding that I was thinking too much about a task that I have performed on hundreds of other occasions.
Before getting changed, my colleagues and I had our pre-game meeting. I'd never worked with either of them before so it was important to get to know each other better to ensure we were on the same page. These discussions have to take place in English, since it is a requirement for international referees to speak English, but working with a Turkish and Japanese referee meant we had to take it slowly.
Another task that I've completed hundreds of times is getting changed into my referee uniform, but never like this before: aside from all of the standard kit I had to wear, I also needed to attach a cable to a belt clip with a microphone for my whistle. This hi-tech piece of kit is designed to assist us in controlling the game clock, but since it was completely new to me, I was a little nervous in using it correctly. (As it turned out, I had nothing to worry about at all!)
Preparing for my first game was a strange experience. On the first day of competition, I had been nominated to the penultimate game at 9pm local time - Algeria vs China women in the Rio Olympic Arena. Having to wait a full 14 hours from breakfast didn't really help settle my nerves, but it DID give me the opportunity to get into the arenas and watch a few games, soaking up the atmosphere to find ways of reducing the 'rabbit-in-headlights' type effect of bright lights, loud music and screaming spectators that I might encounter when stepping on court for the first time.
Packing my bag was also a surprisingly difficult process - I kept on doubting that I had packed everything I needed and had to check at least twice, before deciding that I was thinking too much about a task that I have performed on hundreds of other occasions.
Before getting changed, my colleagues and I had our pre-game meeting. I'd never worked with either of them before so it was important to get to know each other better to ensure we were on the same page. These discussions have to take place in English, since it is a requirement for international referees to speak English, but working with a Turkish and Japanese referee meant we had to take it slowly.
Another task that I've completed hundreds of times is getting changed into my referee uniform, but never like this before: aside from all of the standard kit I had to wear, I also needed to attach a cable to a belt clip with a microphone for my whistle. This hi-tech piece of kit is designed to assist us in controlling the game clock, but since it was completely new to me, I was a little nervous in using it correctly. (As it turned out, I had nothing to worry about at all!)
I can't really remember much about going out into the arena for the first time, other than my heart rate leapt to about 160BPM (and that was just walking into the court!)
Warming up on-court with the players helped settle my nerves a little bit, but jelly-leg syndrome started to creep in when the anthems started.
On paper, China were expected to win easily (and they did) but it was an excellent type of first game experience for me. Games with large points spreads allow referees to work on concentration, getting the basics right and also implementing new ideas and philosophies that were covered in our clinic earlier in the week.
It it was also a historic moment for Algeria - the first African women's basketball team to participate in any games, in the first ever games to take place in South America (and my first ever game too, but they didn't know about that!)
The game was over before I knew it. Our feedback was positive with a few things to work on (because we can always improve) but I left the arena happy and hungry - since it was just before midnight when we finished!
Warming up on-court with the players helped settle my nerves a little bit, but jelly-leg syndrome started to creep in when the anthems started.
On paper, China were expected to win easily (and they did) but it was an excellent type of first game experience for me. Games with large points spreads allow referees to work on concentration, getting the basics right and also implementing new ideas and philosophies that were covered in our clinic earlier in the week.
It it was also a historic moment for Algeria - the first African women's basketball team to participate in any games, in the first ever games to take place in South America (and my first ever game too, but they didn't know about that!)
The game was over before I knew it. Our feedback was positive with a few things to work on (because we can always improve) but I left the arena happy and hungry - since it was just before midnight when we finished!
So with my first game under my belt, it was time to look ahead to the next one - a men's game, Canada vs Netherlands...