Teenage referees call timeout on foul behaviour
Corinna Hente
By RACHAEL ANDERSON
Teenage referees are calling for more respect from parent spectators at children’s sporting events, following the ejection of an irate parent at the Nunawading Basketball Centre.
"Parents need to imagine that it is their child … refereeing the game, their child … having abusive comments thrown at them over and over again," said Sarah Floros, who refereed for the Victorian Basketball Referees Association from age 14 to 16.
 
Floros’s comments come after a man was ejected from an under 13s boys basketball match on April 24, after verbally abusing two teenage referees.
 

"Once they [irate parents] … actually experience having a child as a referee, then you will notice … many parents choose to sit quietly and cheer on the players, instead of threatening referees," Floros said.

Patrick Hickey, a basketball referee for Nunawading Basketball Association since the age of 14, said encountering verbal abuse from irate parents was a common occurrence for teenage referees.

Hickey said parents had verbally abused his ability to referee, sworn at him, called him "horrendous" names and tried to verbally intimidate him.

Brooke Junginger, who has umpired for Belcoma Netball Club since the age of 15, said she thought parents being able to stand  close to a netball or basketball court contributed to the problem. When they are close to the game they sometimes become very emotionally involved, she said.

"I think … sometimes parents overreact more than [other] supporters," she said.

Nunawading Basketball Centre Mark Hallett, general manager of Nunawading Basketball Centre where more than 70 per cent of referees are under 18, expressed similar concerns.

"We believe the issue stems from the proximity parents have to the court. For example, in football the field is more than 100m long with play happening at a long distance. Due to the close quarters of basketball, parents are a lot more involved in the match," he said.

"Education of parents is one solution, however if [the centre] was to make them do a beginner rules course that may propagate the problem as then they may feel they know even more," he said.

The Australian Sports Commission Code of Behaviour, developed by The Australian Sports Commission and the Drug Offensive, makes clear the expected behaviour of parent spectators. The Parents Code of Behaviour requests parents to "raise the issue through the appropriate channels rather than question the official’s judgment and honesty in public" if they disagree with an official’s decision.

Hickey said there were many cases though where parents ignored this code and argued directly with the referee instead.

Brad Prior, an umpire for the Eastern Football League since the age of 14, said that when dealing with teenage referees, parents needed to remember, "at the end of the day … [they’re] a young kid, [they’re] human, [they’re] just out there to earn some pocket money."