Olympic hoops officiating
 

I got a chance to watch my first 2008 Olympic basketball games this weekend. I thought the officials really worked well together on both the Mens & Womens games.
Although the games were blowouts, they still worked as if both teams had a shot at it. The rotations were crisp, great position adjustments & the call selection was consistent. I know basketball is universal, but to see officials from different parts of the world to come together & be on the same page was great. Is that the norm for officials who don’t work together all that often?

I noticed that FIBA mechanics require the administering official to go opposite the table on FTs.
Why is that?
Who brings the subs, the C with their back to the table?
It looked as if they went opposite after reporting fouls as in NCAA-M. I never could figure out the coverage areas though. Does the L extend to the sideline or the 3pt line in the corner?

I've seen the same thing as you Ch1town, I'm impressed with the quality of everyone there. It's pretty hard to sit down and have a pre-game when you don't speak the same language so I can only imagine how one official communicates with their partners.

FIBA requires the calling official to go opposite to get away from the coaches. Because the subs are brought in before (and never between) any FT action the calling official brings the subs in. The table side official brings in any subs after the FT action is complete.

As for court coverage it should be very similar to NCAA-M, however because of the potential communication issues and lack of a solid pre-game, you'll see a lot more calls outside of the PCA.

General practice in Europe is that after the foul is called and administered, the official that is nearest the table (T or C on the table-side) usually administers the substitution, it is never the guy going opposite.

Limeyref

International Officials are all required to speak English. I don't know why this is a requirement but it is what I was told. My mentor went to referee in a few international events in Europe and did Womens games in Seoul and he told me it made working alot easier. Of course some are more fluent than others.

47.6 of the FIBA Official Basketball Rules...........if verbal communication is necessary to make a decision clear, it shall be conducted in English.

In Europe and I think in the other zones it is pretty much a requirement to speak English, although some referees are stronger than others in this respect.......

If I had to guess, I'd say this is the reason:

I'm not sure they're used to the quickness of the NBA players. Yes, NBA players travel and it's not called in the NBA. i expected to see some of those alls. But I've also seen a couple that were called that simply weren't traveling.

So are you Canadian guys also required to study English as a second language? :rolleyes:

No just European as a second language. No one here can speak American with any fluency! ;)

Speaking American is to end a sentence with a preposition. :p

In high school, I tried to end each sentence with a proposition, especially if I was on a date. Didn't help, though. :(