Hundreds of table officials, coaches, referees, statisticians, sport scientists and medical leads will descent on Manchester over the next few days as Basketball England’s National Game Conference gets underway at the National Basketball Performance Centre this evening.
With so many sub-sections of the sport together in one place, the National Game Conference is always an excellent opportunity for the sharing of best practice and knowledge which can then be passed on at a regional and local level as the season progresses.
Kicking off the event will be the fitness testing for referees on Friday evening, before a number of workshops take place on Saturday and Sunday. With a focus on areas such as 3-person officiating, application of warnings, unsportsmanlike fouls, leadership and decisiveness, plus teamwork and communication, the officials in attendance will have a host of topics to get their teeth into following instruction from a highly experienced bank of instructors.
Also on Saturday, Table Officials will be able to focus on their in game mechanics, shot clock management, teamwork, communication and more as they enjoy specific workshops to work on their skills. Saturday evening will also see the first ever Statisticians Conference as a number of high level statisticians will meet to discuss their own aspects of the game.
Across the road from the Performance Centre at St Peter’s School, the Coaching Conference will get underway on Saturday morning and run throughout the day. With topics like “Developing Smart Players”, “Concussion Thoughts & Management” and “Keys to Running Effective Practice”, there will be plenty to take in for those in attendance.
After previously being a standalone entity on the Basketball England calendar, the Sports Science and Medicine (SSM) Conference has now been amalgamated into this year’s Game Conference, with SSM experts enjoying their own detailed schedule throughout Saturday.
With a specific focus on ankle injuries this year, delegates will enjoy a number of varied sessions including Epidemiology with Dr Linda Evans, Radiological Imaging with Professor Waqar Bhatti, A Coaching Perspective on SSM from Alan Keane, Over Use Injuries with Dr Leon Creaney and much more. With 11 separate speakers throughout the day, the SSM Conference is once again a fantastic learning experience for all involved.
Following the action packed day for coaches, officials, referees, statisticians and SSM staff, the activities will finish with the ever popular Volunteer Awards from Manchester City’s stunning Legends Suite at the Etihad Stadium. For a full run down of the nominees for this year’s awards, please use the button below.
Equally, if you’re interested in the schedule for any of the Conferences listed, they're also available from the buttons below.
