Okatch attends Elite Referees clinic
Local Basketball referee, Dorothy Okatch is expected to represent Botswana at the Elite Referees Clinic in Kigali, Rwanda from 12th until 16 May. Up to 30 African countries are expected to attend the high profile basketball clinic.
There is currently over 120 FIBA licensed referees in Africa and Okatch says being nominated for this opportunity means a lot for her and Botswana Basketball Association. “Being included in part of the 30 who will be attending the Elite Referees Clinic is such an amazing feeling for me.
I come from a country that is not known for its basketball ability. For countries to slot for referees it’s also determined by the rankings of the national teams, and in order to be able to be part of the chosen 30, it shows that my efforts have been recognized and that indeed I do have the competency,” she says. She is of the view that being an Elite Referee is a dream many referees have, and therefore this is a dream come true for her too.
Okatch is consistent that Botswana needs such opportunities to enable them to grow the sporting code.
Therefore, she looks forward to sharing the skills she is going to gain from this Elite clinic. “One thing I long promised myself when I became a FIBA ref is to never keep the information and learning to myself. With each new level I reach, I learn more.
Lessons are learnt through trainings, officiating, and at times messing up. So each time I get a chance to train referees or work with them here at home, I jump on it! I don’t even need to be paid, I just want to keep sharing my knowledge so that we can grow the sport through the knowledge of the rules,” says Okatch.
Of late, she has been in Egypt for the Basketball Africa League Nile Conference. This is one of the biggest competitions in Africa and a merge of the NBA and FIBA. She tells BG Sport that she was accorded an opportunity to be one of the 20 nominated referees for the two conferences. Unfortunately, she did not progress to the final session of the competition, but she is grateful for the opportunity and says what matters the most in her world of Basketball is learning.
“Although I was not fortunate to progress to the top eight, who will be doing the finals later this month in Kigali, I am quite honoured to have been a part of the competition, and I have surely learnt something to share with local teams here,” she shares.
The champ will also be in Birmingham by end of July for the Commonwealth games, where she was nominated as one of the five referees who will be doing the 3x3 games. She holds two international referee licenses with one being for the traditional basketball
and the other for 3x3, which positions her well for this opportunity. “We are only 11 referees in Africa who have the 3x3 license,” notes Okatch.
Elite Referees Clinic is actually taking place for the very first time in the African continent and Okatch says she is glad to be part of this history.
” I am so excited about this and also pride myself in knowing that I shall be representing the country at a first of its kind clinic,” she says, explaining that
they will also join other elite referees on webinars that happen almost each week.
She adds that, these sessions are key as they do discuss rules, officiating mechanics, points of emphasis and get to analyise video clips too.
The selection for the elite refereeing is done by FIBA, Okatch informs BG Sports.
“They communicate to us as referees and our associations as well,” she clarifies.