What are my responsibilities as a junior referee in a Year 3 (ages 8-9, Under 10) domestic basketball game? What do I call, and how do I signal it?
You and your partner run the game on the court. Together you:
Year 3 players are 8 or 9 years old and still learning the game. Your job is to keep it fair and safe, and to help them learn the rules, not to catch them out.
Junior domestic competitions in WA change some rules for this age group so players can learn the game. The most common modifications are:
These vary between associations and divisions. Before your first game, ask the court controller or referee coach which of them apply to the game you're refereeing.
With the court controller or referee coach:
With your partner:
With the scorer's table:
On the court:
With two referees, one is the lead and one is the trail.
When possession changes and play goes the other way, you swap: the trail becomes the new lead by running ahead of play to the far baseline, and the lead becomes the new trail.
Keep both teams between you, keep moving to get a clear view, and never stand still in the middle of the court where players run.
The game starts with a jump ball in the centre circle. One player from each team stands in the circle, facing their own basket. Toss the ball straight up, higher than either player can jump, between them. They can only tap it once it has reached its highest point, and can't catch it.
The team that doesn't gain control from the opening jump ball gets the first arrow. After that, every jump ball situation (a held ball, or the ball stuck on the ring) is settled by the alternating possession arrow on the scorer's table: the team the arrow points to gets a throw-in, and the arrow is then switched to the other team.
The arrow also decides who starts each later half or quarter with a throw-in from halfway.
To signal a jump ball situation, raise both thumbs, then point in the direction of the arrow.
A player holding the ball has to keep one foot, the pivot foot, on the floor. They can step with the other foot as many times as they like. It's a travel if they:
Signal: blow the whistle, raise an open hand to stop the clock, then roll your fists around each other in front of your chest. The other team gets a throw-in from the sideline nearest to where it happened.
In Year 3, call travels that clearly give the player an advantage (running with the ball, an extra step to get past a defender). A small shuffle while a player stands still with nowhere to go is often let go in lower divisions.
It's a double dribble (an illegal dribble) when a player:
A player can dribble again after they've passed or shot and the ball has touched another player, the ring or the backboard. A fumble, where the ball slips away accidentally and the player recovers it, isn't a dribble.
It's also a violation if the player carries the ball by letting it rest in their hand with the palm turned up and then keeps dribbling.
Signal: blow the whistle, raise an open hand, then make a patting motion up and down with both hands. The other team gets a throw-in from the nearest sideline.
In lower Year 3 divisions these are usually not called, or players get a warning first. Instead, tell the player quietly to step out of the key or move the ball. In top divisions they're called in full, and the other team gets a throw-in.
Once a team has the ball in its frontcourt (the half with the ring they're attacking), it can't take the ball back over halfway into its backcourt. It's a violation if a player of that team is the last to touch the ball in the frontcourt and then the same team is first to touch it after it goes into the backcourt.
It isn't a violation if a defender knocks the ball back over halfway.
Signal: blow the whistle, raise an open hand, then wave your arm in front of your body with your index finger pointing to the backcourt. The other team gets a throw-in from the frontcourt sideline near halfway.
In lower Year 3 divisions, backcourt violations are often only called when they're obvious, or not called at all.
The ball is out when it, or a player holding it, touches the floor on or outside the boundary line (the lines themselves are out), or touches anything outside the court, such as a bench, a wall or a person.
The team that didn't touch it last gets a throw-in from the spot nearest to where it went out, but never from directly behind the backboard.
Signal: blow the whistle, raise an open hand, then point in the direction the team receiving the ball is attacking. Hand the ball to the thrower (or bounce it to them). They have five seconds to pass it in, and must keep both feet out of the court until it's released.
If you and your partner can't tell who touched it last, it's a jump ball situation: use the possession arrow.
A foul is illegal contact with an opponent. Not all contact is a foul: players will bump into each other. Call it when the contact gives a player an unfair advantage or puts them at a disadvantage. The common ones in Year 3 are:
To call a foul, blow the whistle and raise one arm with a clenched fist (this stops the clock). Point at the player who fouled, then report the foul to the scorer's table.
After calling the foul, jog to a spot a few metres from the scorer's table where they can see you clearly, stop, and:
Wait until the scorer has acknowledged you before moving away. Your partner watches the players while you report.
Any other foul is a throw-in to the team that was fouled, from the sideline nearest the foul.
During free throws, players line up in the marked spaces along the key, attackers and defenders alternating, with the defending team in the spots closest to the ring. Nobody (including the shooter) can enter the key until the ball leaves the shooter's hands. In Year 3, free throws are often taken from a closer line, and young shooters who step over the line as they shoot usually aren't penalised.
Two unsportsmanlike fouls, or two technical fouls, or one of each, disqualify a player from the game. Fighting or abusing anyone disqualifies them straight away. This is rare in Year 3; if it happens, get the court controller.
Zone defence isn't allowed in junior domestic basketball. Each defender must guard a player (man-to-man), following them around the court.
A team is playing a zone if its defenders are guarding areas of the court instead of players for too long, for example a player standing in the key and not following anyone, or defenders who don't follow an attacker cutting through the key.
If you see it, at the next dead ball tell the defending coach calmly that it looks like a zone and their players need to pick up a player each. If it continues, tell the court controller or referee coach. They decide whether to warn the coach formally and, if it keeps happening, give the coach a technical foul.
Players helping a teammate for a moment, or a defender caught out of position, isn't a zone. Look for a pattern, not a single moment.
That's a held ball: players from both teams have one or both hands firmly on the ball and neither can get it without being rough. Blow the whistle straight away, before anyone gets hurt wrestling for it, and signal a jump ball (both thumbs up), then point in the direction of the possession arrow.
The team the arrow favours gets a throw-in from the spot nearest the held ball, and the arrow switches to the other team.
The same applies if the ball gets stuck between the ring and the backboard.
In Year 3, blow early. Kids will keep tugging, and it's a common way for fingers to get hurt.
Stopping the clock
Scoring
Violations
Fouls: holding (grab your wrist), pushing (push with both hands), illegal use of hands (chop your wrist), blocking (hands on hips), charging (fist into palm)
Other
Coaches ask the scorer's table for a substitution or time-out. The table sounds the buzzer or signals you at the next opportunity, which is when the ball is dead and the clock is stopped (after a whistle).
After a made basket, the team that conceded can also be granted a time-out or substitution.
In Year 3, coaches are often encouraged to rotate players so everyone gets fair court time, so expect plenty of substitutions. Keep them quick.
Strict on safety and fairness, relaxed on small technical slips.
Blow your whistle loudly and confidently, and use clear signals. Year 3 players react to the whistle, so a sharp whistle stops play quickly and keeps them safe.
If a player is hurt, stop play when the ball is dead or the injured player's team has the ball. If it looks serious, or the player is in danger of being run into, blow the whistle straight away. Call the coach on to look after them. The injured player usually has to be substituted.
Blood: a player who is bleeding, or has blood on their uniform, must leave the court straight away. They can't come back until the bleeding has stopped, the wound is covered, and any blood on their uniform is cleaned or the uniform is changed. Blood on the ball or the floor must be cleaned before play restarts.
Head knocks: if a player hits their head and shows any sign of concussion (dizziness, confusion, headache, vomiting, being knocked out even briefly), they come off and don't return that day. If in doubt, sit them out. Let the court controller know.
Once play restarts, the team that had the ball keeps it with a throw-in. If nobody had it, use the possession arrow.
If you didn't see it clearly, don't guess. Your partner may have had a better view, so leave it to them. If neither of you saw it, don't call it.
If you both blow the whistle for different things at the same time (for example one calls a block and the other a charge), get together quickly and agree on one call. Usually the referee who had the play in front of them, in their area, makes the final call. If you really can't agree, it's a jump ball situation: use the possession arrow.
If you make a mistake, own it and move on. Every referee misses calls. A calm, consistent game matters more than getting every close one perfect, especially in Year 3.
Stay calm and polite. Your decision stands, and you don't need to argue or explain it during play. A coach can ask you a short, respectful question at a dead ball or at a break.
If a coach, player or spectator keeps complaining, yells at you, or abuses you, don't respond to them directly. Stop the game at the next dead ball and get the court controller or referee coach. They deal with spectators and can remove anyone who abuses a referee. Coaches who abuse referees can be given a technical foul.
Abuse of referees, especially young referees, isn't acceptable in Basketball WA competitions. Tell the court controller about it after the game so it can be reported, even if you handled it yourself.
Don't wear a watch, jewellery or anything else that could hurt a player if you bump into one. Arrive 15 minutes before your game so you can check the rules for that game with the court controller and meet your partner.