Good Luck Beijing Invitational Wheelchair Basketball 20-25 January in Beijing: When I first started officiating in wheelchair basketball, if anybody had told me “one day you will officiate a game in China”, I would have really laughed and made fun of him. However, sport erases all the borders and make distances closer. To me, it is the best thing to deal with.
After quitting active sports life as a footballer, one day while watching a game on TV, I remember telling myself “I have to be inside the action” and then applied to become a referee. At first, it was running basketball refereeing followed by disappointments in not achieving my goals. I then switched to wheelchair basketball and became an international referee. This gave me the chance to see more than ten countries, meeting new continents and cultures, fine memories, good friends, and experiencing the honor to represent my country. These all happened with the help of wheelchair basketball. Therefore I’m really grateful to this sport.
After this introduction, I would like to tell my impressions about Beijing. People of China really take the organization of Olympic Games very seriously. You realise it the moment you get out of the plane when you see the volunteers dressed orange coats waiting for you with their smiling face.
All IWBF officials stayed in single rooms. It was a pleasure to dine at the revolving restaurant on the 23rd floor of the Yuanchenxin Hotel. Having only one game everyday gave us the opportunity to go sightseeing or shopping in Beijing. And the Tiananmen Square and the Silk Market were the first landmarks we discovered in the city. The latter, however was the place where we wrestled with the salespeople who ended up with all our money. We had one day free and under the organisation of Samuel (IWBF referee); we had the opportunity to see the Great Wall of China and the Tombs of Ming Dynasty. Despite -20 degrees, we had a very determined group and all achieved to climb the highest point of the Great Wall.
About the refereeing in the tournament, I had the opportunity to observe referees from Canada, Australia, China, and Mexico which I do not see at home in Europe. At the beginning of the tournament Mr. Norbert Kucera mentioned Article 31 once again and asked us to call the offensive foul for the player with the ball who does not control his wheelchair and uses the defensive player to gain advantage for a brake or a shoot and then has both rear wheels going up. He mentioned most referees prefer to call violation for these situations which he finds unacceptable. Senior Referee of the tournament Mr. Don Steponchev mentioned that center referees tend to call less fouls, however they are the ones who cover the most important part of the game.
About the promotion of the tournament, there was an average of 1000 spectators per game which was not bad at the National Indoor Stadium with a capacity of 18,500 people. The games of China Men and Women teams and the finals were broadcast by Beijing TV, BTV6. You can also find the photos and the videos of the games at the following link http://www.wheelchairbk2008.org.cn/en/video/index.html.
Finally, all the officials and participants of the tournament are of the same opinion that China will be successful in their organization of Olympic and Paralympic Games. I wish China good luck for the games.
After quitting active sports life as a footballer, one day while watching a game on TV, I remember telling myself “I have to be inside the action” and then applied to become a referee. At first, it was running basketball refereeing followed by disappointments in not achieving my goals. I then switched to wheelchair basketball and became an international referee. This gave me the chance to see more than ten countries, meeting new continents and cultures, fine memories, good friends, and experiencing the honor to represent my country. These all happened with the help of wheelchair basketball. Therefore I’m really grateful to this sport.
After this introduction, I would like to tell my impressions about Beijing. People of China really take the organization of Olympic Games very seriously. You realise it the moment you get out of the plane when you see the volunteers dressed orange coats waiting for you with their smiling face.
All IWBF officials stayed in single rooms. It was a pleasure to dine at the revolving restaurant on the 23rd floor of the Yuanchenxin Hotel. Having only one game everyday gave us the opportunity to go sightseeing or shopping in Beijing. And the Tiananmen Square and the Silk Market were the first landmarks we discovered in the city. The latter, however was the place where we wrestled with the salespeople who ended up with all our money. We had one day free and under the organisation of Samuel (IWBF referee); we had the opportunity to see the Great Wall of China and the Tombs of Ming Dynasty. Despite -20 degrees, we had a very determined group and all achieved to climb the highest point of the Great Wall.
About the refereeing in the tournament, I had the opportunity to observe referees from Canada, Australia, China, and Mexico which I do not see at home in Europe. At the beginning of the tournament Mr. Norbert Kucera mentioned Article 31 once again and asked us to call the offensive foul for the player with the ball who does not control his wheelchair and uses the defensive player to gain advantage for a brake or a shoot and then has both rear wheels going up. He mentioned most referees prefer to call violation for these situations which he finds unacceptable. Senior Referee of the tournament Mr. Don Steponchev mentioned that center referees tend to call less fouls, however they are the ones who cover the most important part of the game.
About the promotion of the tournament, there was an average of 1000 spectators per game which was not bad at the National Indoor Stadium with a capacity of 18,500 people. The games of China Men and Women teams and the finals were broadcast by Beijing TV, BTV6. You can also find the photos and the videos of the games at the following link http://www.wheelchairbk2008.org.cn/en/video/index.html.
Finally, all the officials and participants of the tournament are of the same opinion that China will be successful in their organization of Olympic and Paralympic Games. I wish China good luck for the games.
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