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McPherson urges referees to be cognisant of fitness
– says Peters failed fitness at FIBA recertification
By Edison Jefford
The clarion call for local basketball referees to start paying more attention to their fitness was issued last Friday at the Water Chris Hotel where Godwin McPherson gave a lucid exposé on that aspect of the sport.
McPherson, who is the President of the Guyana Amateur Basketball Federation, said that the undermining of the physical aspect of refereeing resulted in the recent failure of the internationally accredited, Howard Peters.
Godwin McPherson
It was disclosed that Peters, who is an International Basketball Federation (in English) FIBA accredited referee, flunked the physical aspect of the mandatory recertification process in Canada recently.
“A lot of people fail the physical so when you writing, tell those that want to be referees that they must start getting fit now, get up in the mornings and run or jog and go to the gym,” McPherson told the media.
“To pass the exam you have to be physically fit, know rules and be able to demonstrate the rules; Peters, who had no problem with his knowledge of the game, failed the physical,” the local basketball Head informed.
The issue of refereeing was raised on two accounts. The first is that Guyana has bided to host the Caribbean Basketball Championships and the second was that the ‘Next Level’ basketball contest gets underway this weekend.
The failure of Peters leaves Guyana with only one FIBA accredited referee in Linden’s Sherwin Henry. McPherson indicated that efforts will be made to send more referees to be accredited providing they are physically fit.
“We have sent a number of people on programmes that were not successful and in my mind, having not been successful, one should have come back here and work hard to be successful the next time around,” he said.
The local basketball boss acknowledged that there is a problem with referees in Guyana but clearly stated that the issues stem from the fitness problem. He urged referees to be cognisant of their “physical component”.
“Everyone knows that there is a problem with refereeing in Guyana,” McPherson noted. The most recent problem left a referee’s bus without tires after an irate patron punctured all four wheels after a grudge game.
That patron felt that the referee was not fair to Ravens when the team came up against foe Courts Pacesetters at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall. McPherson believes that referees could quell such occurrences with a more serious approach.
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