Keilor Basketball Association (KBA) has won two Basketball Victoria 2025 awards for ‘referee program of the year (large)’ and ‘referee association of the year (tier one)’.
The awards recognised the highlights of the club’s referee program, the ability of referees, and a strong culture that promotes participation.
KBA technical officials development officer Kyra Jacobson said the association was excited about the achievement.
“Everyone’s really positive about it. It’s nice to see other people recognise it from outside [the club] as well,” she said.
The awards also took into consideration the number of officials invited to national competitions as well as representation at statewide competitions.
Ms Jacobson said KBA has had a huge representation at high level competitions while focussing on grassroots development.
She said communication is key to being a good referee.
“It’s all about effective communication and being able to explain and teach the rules, and making the game better itself,” Ms Jacobson said.
“It’s really funny because at the end of the game you don’t want to be remembered … a good referee is not thought of.”
Ms Jacobson said refereeing has grown as a career in the past five years.
“It’s a skill or a job that nobody really sees longevity in but it’s an absolute pathway for a lot of people,” she said.
“I’ve got a great number of kids that are going across the country refereeing in basketball and are really successful in their jobs but do this as a pastime.
“You take those skills of court into life.”
