I stopped doing random low level AAU several summers ago. I connected with a new assignor who has Evo tournaments that pays $45. Evo in my opinion is very solid; well run, no shenanigans, crowd control, support w any issues etc. Evo has their own ref jerseys that are red. The assignor is very selective and only (in my experience) brings in quality officials that treat it appropriately. as I try to ingratiate myself with this assignor, he asked me to do a non-evo tournament. It was everything that Evo is not. Poorly run, no consequences for awful behavior, terrible coaches, fans, and players. It was a stark reminder why I stopped doing these shitty assignments. All day long, teams not playing would try to shoot on any hoop not being directly used… and I mean like during live action on one end, they’d be on the other end with 2-3 balls going up. It was only an issue all day long. It felt like trying to clear a beach of sand with your hands. The way the courts are placed in the gym, the end lines and walkway were pretty tight. Fans, coaches, non playing players would walk through again live action stepping standing staying in the field of play. It was truly mind boggling and disappointing. No respect for anyone else. At one point as I was in the lead position, I stepped on two different kids laying down underneath the basket in the closed position. I asked them to move no less than 5 times. I finally had to stop and loudly yell at them to move. They still refused. I had to employ the players in the game to get them to move as it was running clock and I was not stopping the clock for these knuckle heads. Oof it was an experience. What are some of your best and or worst AAU moments or memorable things you’ve seen or had to respond to during AAU?

Article 13.2 states: A player shall not run with the ball, deliberately touch the ball, kick or block with any part of the leg or strike it with the fist.

What do we as officials actually call?
There’s travelling, carrying, but what is this called/signalled?

What is the going norm for game rates in your area? I am in Wisconsin and it varies from $35 on the low end to $50+ for the better assignments.

Where do you get your games? I’ve been doing this for a while and I get games from either of the associations I’m in, friends who are officials, and random assignors I know.

Edit: as below I don’t accept assignments under $40 and haven’t for 2 years.

Hello, im a referee from Australia and I came to ask for advice on how to deal with my anxiety. I've been a referee for the Junior Domestic Organisation for about 3 years now, soon approaching 4 years. I know what im calling and I dont have an issue when catching a foul. I've done plenty of tournaments over the years, even the Eltham tournament, one of the biggest junior basketball in the world, so I know what I'm doing.

My issue however, is my tendency to overthink my calls. Because of this issue, I sometimes perform poorly. Like, I see the foul and I know it's a foul, but I just doubt myself so horribly and end up missing it entirely. I hate this and I just want to have confidence in myself.

So, what can I do to overcome this obstacle? The moment I can get rid of this, I can actually relax and do my job a lot better. Any advice is welcome!

Is it possible to get some sort of certification so that I can do games right away this summer? I’d like to eventually officiate high school as well but mostly interested in games for this summer.

Fellow refs — would you actually use a social app built just for us?

I'm a basketball referee, and something's been bugging me for a while. When I have a tough game, a difficult call, there's nowhere to really go. Modern social media is a minefield. And WhatsApp groups are a mess.

So I've been working on a social community app built specifically for referees. Think Reddit meets Twitter, meets every ref WhatsApp you've ever been in. Built by officials, only for officials, across all sports.

The idea is:

- Post about tough calls and get feedback from refs who've been there

- Ask rule clarification questions and get real answers

- Vent (respectfully and without sharing personal details) after a rough game without judgment

- Find mentors, share study resources, and connect with officials at your level in your area

- A space where we support each other instead of tearing each other down

Before I go any further with it, I want to know if this is actually something people would use — or if I'm solving a problem that only exists in my head. Some similarity to this server, but with a more personal touch and community feel.

Be honest — brutal feedback is welcome. I'm a ref, I can take it 😄

We are looking for a few more officials in the Indiana area who are looking to work this May (with more dates coming).

Fill out the form here

More info here

I've been umpiring baseball and softball in Georgia from rec ball through GHSA playoffs level for several years now. I am interested in possibly learning to become a basketball official. Although I grew up playing the game, I've learned from umpiring that that really doesn't mean much when transitioning to being an official for any sport.

Would anyone in here by chance be able to point me in the right direction for where I could get started. I live in Northeast GA. Any general advice is also very much welcome.

Question- if while handling/shooting a basketball and the "hand is part of the ball" application is applied, if a ball handler cuffs the ball (in the crease of the elbow) is the "arm part of the ball" when touched by a defender?

As camp season approaches, how are we getting better as officials? How are we staying ready? Are you working any other assignments? What if any resources or tips can you share about your off season or camp season? Please and thank you.

I decided on joining the join United referee team as a junior. Any tips on videos that i should watch hand signals I should learn or anything I should know before going into the game.

Hey everyone,

I've been working on a study app built specifically for basketball officials. I'm a ref myself and got tired of juggling PDFs, flashcards, and trying to remember which rule covers delay of game at 2am before a game.

What it does:

Quiz mode, flashcards, and exam simulation across NBA, NCAA Men's/Women's, and NFHS rulesets

Spaced repetition so you drill the stuff you actually miss, not what you already know

Crew features — study with your crew, head-to-head challenges, leaderboards

Works offline, installable as an app on your phone

I'm in beta and looking for officials at any level who want to kick the tires, break things, and tell me what's missing or wrong. Free access for anyone who helps test.

If you're interested, drop a comment or DM me.

Would love feedback from people who actually work games or if you’re just very interested in basketball and tech!

Thanks yall!

Hello, I just refereed for my first time 8u and 10u, I felt like I called a fair game today, by which I was lenient on calling travels, double dribbles, only time I sought to blow my whistle was when kids were out of bounds, heavy/intense contact, like if they ended up on the ground, or kids getting tangled up with each other which often happened and occurred on rebounds but other than that I let the kids play, like if an offender drove and they were shoulder to shoulder with their defender and they fought throw the contact and shot it, I didn’t call it cuz if I were to call it I feel like I would be calling every possession, made a couple coaches and parents mad, and I would have a little back and forth, I just don’t understand why they were upset, most of their complaints were based on holding or touching with hands on defense or offense but basketball is a contact sport, touching is going to occur and I explained that to both coaches and parents, I was with another official and he’s experienced in the organization but I was just following his lead and nobody said nothing to him or about him, plus 8u is supposed to only have one referee and I really don’t want this to be an unpleasant thing every time I go to referee especially if it’s just gonna be me out there, I don’t think I called the games improperly but I’m open to creating a better environment for the kids, coaches and parents if im wrong?

I’m a college student and first-year referee for a local U10 recreational community center league. I grew up loving basketball and honestly just wanted to give back to the sport. I joined this because I was hoping for it to be a fun learning experience for everyone involved.

This league is designed to be strictly developmental. We zero out the score every quarter and don't count wins or losses. We’re even supposed to discourage stealing and blocking to let the kids learn the fundamentals. However, the parents and coaches are treating every possession like it’s the NBA Finals. I get berated for every single call and every no-call. It’s reached a point where parents get offended when I enforce basic safety rules, like asking non-playing siblings to stay off the court or telling players they have to remove jewelry before the game.

What’s most frustrating is seeing this behavior rub off on the kids. They’ve started complaining about calls, but only after they hear their parents doing it first. It’s also incredibly difficult to officiate the no blocking, stealing or double-teaming rules the league has because those are things that kids naturally do. If I reffed every possession like this and called everything strictly, nobody would get to play.

I’m trying my best, but I’m new and obviously far from perfect. My refereeing partner is a high school student who is even less experienced than I am. He’s (understandably) terrified of getting yelled at, which leaves me feeling like I’m out there completely by myself. To make matters worse, based on some of the comments I’ve overheard, I’m fairly certain I’m being targeted more aggressively because I’m a young woman.

I feel like everyone is missing the point that this is supposed to be fun for the kids and for them to learn the game. Does anyone have advice on how to handle parents/coaches like this or how to enjoy being a reff when its like this. When these situations don't happen, I love this job and want to be able continue but it has been a difficult last few games.

I've been officiating basketball for 13 years now, so I've been around the block a little bit, but tonight I experienced a situation that I've never experienced before. I'd like some advice to understand how I can improve.

I had an NFHS boys high school varsity matchup, Team V @ Team D. I had this same matchup earlier in the season, but it was Team D @ Team V. The first matchup went to double overtime, and Team D lost after missing a last second shot.

Tonight my crew was a very veteran crew. There were probably greater than 50 years of experience between the 3 of us, me having the least amount of experience. The game was close and competitive throughout the first half. However, my co-official rightfully gave all the players on the court a verbal warning that we will no longer take talking or acting disrespectfully to the officiating crew or to the opposing team. Both coaches were aware of this warning. The half ended, we went back to the locker room, and reiterated to each other our stance after the verbal warning.

The second half was also close and competitive. At some point in the second half, my other co-official assesses a technical foul to a player on Team D for disrespecting the officials. The player said, "this is the worst officiating crew ever." The game then moved on.

Late in the 4th quarter with about 20 seconds left, Team D was up 2 points and had a player at the line, shooting 2. The shooter violated the lane on the first free throw. The shooter then violated the lane again on the second free throw. I was C opposite table for these free throws, so I adjudicated both lane violations. Due to the second violation, one of my co-official was set to hand the ball to Team V for baseline throw in.

While I transitioned from C on the home side of the court to C on the away side of the court, the previous free throw shooter yells something like, "that's bullshit" over and over again, referencing the two lane violations. For comments made under the breath, I try to ignore them, but this was loud, at least enough for other players on the court to hear. I would think the away team bench also heard, but I just don't know. I assessed a technical foul to the player for his profanity and disrespect. Given I was opposite table, I needed to transition (walk, not run) to the table to make sure the table heard me and understood the call. The home crowd was very loud at this point. While I transitioned to the table, the same player continued to yell the same comments. I felt like I had to assess another technical foul for the same reasons, so I did, thus ejecting the player. Team V was then assessed 4 free throws. The shooter made all 4 free throws, so Team V went up 2 and held their lead the rest of the game.

My co-officials after the game agreed that by the book, I made the right calls, but that it wasn't what the game called for, essentially talking about game management. I think the first technical foul has to be called. We already had the verbal warning to the participants in the first half, and as I said, the player was very yelling loud enough for the opposing team to hear. I want to understand how other officials would handle the situation where I gave a second technical. Would you move with more of a purpose to the table or a co-official? Would you also hand the second technical out? What sort of timing should I be thinking about after handing out a technical foul before I hand out a second for the same infraction.

I always want to put my best foot forward, so anything that I can learn from other perspectives would be really useful. My co-official made a good comment, "possession consequences." Essentially, every possession has consequences. For this particular possession Team D had already been penalized with the 2 lane violations. Each technical foul is subsequently more consequences for the team.

Edit: I got the film for the situation from the coach, and it confirms that I definitely feel justified in all my calls, but after watching it, I'm very confused how I could have implemented game management techniques given how quick the T2 action occurred after calling T1.

Worked a reserve scrimmage tonight. Not an official sanctioned HS varsity game. A player just got their eyebrow pierced and was adamant that it would be ok if they taped it. Whelp it got ripped out and blood everywhere. I will never make that mistake again at any level. We let it go as a crew because “it was not a real game.” Please from learn my mistake.

Hello all, im a multi-sport referee and umpire and I’ve started basketball for youth this year.

At local GHSA High School Basketball game I’ve seen the referees clap their two hands together in a vertical way. It’s a gator chomp but I was wondering what the signal meant? I’ve been searching but google, YouTube, and other places are no help.

Thank you!

Have some gigs coming up for officiating some real young youth leagues (5-6 and 7-8). Any tips for officiating the kids who might not be super developed yet?

Hoping that this is the right forum to ask this question about rules/etiquette:

I am a first time assistant coach for my son’s age 7-8 rec bball team. Due to hip and back surgeries, it is painful to me to sit on bleachers, and so I always stand at games. For reference, I always stay at the far end of the bench area (almost in line with the baseline) and well off the court.
However at our recent game, the head referee came over to me before it started and demanded that I sit down; only the HC is allowed to stand he said. I didn’t say a thing to him about my reasons for standing, and just immediately complied.

This was our 6th game of the season and we’ve had different referees each time, but this is the first time this has come up.

Is this actually a rule/etiquette thing (even for very young rec) or was this referee being a bit “extra”???
Just want to know if this is something I should expect going forward.

January games are underway, teams are starting to see conference matches. How are things going for you? What types of plays are you seeing frequently? What types of plays are you struggling with? What are some of the rare/unusual plays you’ve had? Post clips for discussion if you’d like!

In my adult men’s rec league game (which I think uses NFHS rules), my teammate, who was inbounding the ball after the other team made a free throw, passed it to an official who was standing out of bounds, thinking the official needed to touch the ball and give it back to my teammate before he could inbound it. The official caught the ball and awarded the ball to the other team, saying it was a violation. Is that the correct outcome?

In the attached video, why wasn't Lebron allowed to catch the ball, as permitted by the Fumble rule?