Basketball New Zealand

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Rookie NBL referee Olivia Johnson

Saturday night’s Stars-Saints Dominion Finance NBL round one game will not only be the Stars season-opener, it will also mark the national league debuts of referees Kieran Udy and Bo Wills-Choat.

The pair – Udy from Auckland and Wills-Choat from Kawakawa – will join FIBA accredited Tim Brown for the Youthtown Auckland Stars-Century City Wellington Saints tilt at ASB Stadium, among six rookie referees added to the NBL Referees Panel for 2008.

Dunedin-based Olivia Johnson will make her NBL debut on Sunday afternoon when the defending champion CPS Nelson Giants visit the Cartridge World Otago Nuggets at the Edgar Centre, while other newbies Lisa Baptista, of Auckland, Nelson’s James Campion and New Plymouth’s Colin Dowling will whistle their first NBL action in later rounds.

“We’ve been given a chance to get more local referees involved in the league and it should enhance the referee development in each of the NBL areas,” said Ken Coulson, NBL referee coordinator.

“We’ve got some great experience in existing members and before it gets too late we need to develop a new batch of officials to gain NBL experience.”

Udy and Wills-Choat, who share the same birthdate of February 21, albeit 24 years apart, both officiated senior national finals last season, Udy in the Women’s Basketball League decider and Wills-Choat the Conference Basketball League championship game.

Udy will become the youngest referee on the NBL Panel at 21, taking over from 22-year-olds Scott Harris and Johnson, who are separated by a day, while another newcomer, Dowling, will become the oldest whistler at 64.

This season also sees the return of four referees – Wellington’s Donna Brown, Yalla Edwards and Joe Hemi, and Palmerston North’s Sean Cronin, after varying absences from the NBL. Hemi returns to the court after undergoing a hip replacement last year.

Referee milestones on the horizon include Cronin (90 games) and Wairarapa’s Andy Thackray (86 games) clocking three-figures.

The referees panel, which has expanded from 20 to 25 this season, includes six referees with over 100 games experience, headed by Dallas Pickering’s 224 games. The others are Gavin Whiu (169), Wayne Start (165), Melony Wealleans (115), Gavin Zimmerman (109) and Raewyn Willocks (106).