The project was created by the BE Officiating Department to recruit, educate and support new Level 1 and 2 referees and try and limit the number of dropouts by providing a comprehensive service of support and guidance to each candidate on their fledgling officiating journey.
A second iteration of the project will now take place in the 2024/25 season.
“Our mission was to improve our #REDD strategy by providing full support to both candidates and course organisers from the recruitment stage through to education and onto the court, regularly giving our new referees support and feedback on the games they’ve officiated.
“Historically, we know that only a small percentage of referees who sign up to a course go on to referee, often because they become disengaged in the process at some stage, so the project worked to try and increase this number and improve the conversion rate.
“The main feedback we’ve received has indicated that a hands-on approach by BE staff has improved the learner experience and their belief, self-confidence to take what they’ve learnt and apply it.
“We believe the project will bridge the gap in refereeing demand for the 24/25 season, especially with the introduction of the newly formed National Basketball Conference League.”
Practically, BE staff and mentors engaged with candidates through phone calls and WhatsApp messages, with Cox saying that personal interactions ‘significantly boosted’ candidates' confidence.
Initially, 182 candidates were recruited for the project, 147 achieved their qualification and 74 are now active in BE’s leagues and competitions.
Insight suggests that 92% of candidates felt supported (either well or moderately) by the approach and nearly 100% of survey respondents would recommend being a referee to someone else based on their experience.
"The extra support from the BE Officiating Department really helped me build confidence as a referee, especially in more intense games. I’m very grateful for the support and advice I received."
BE East's Craig Douglass, who is the Suffolk officials and technical secretary and applied to run courses to boost the number of referees in the region, said that the project removed barriers, including costs to the candidate.
"Under the #REDD initiative, I applied to run a course to increase the number of referees in our area, this is when [BE's] Dan Cox reached out to me and offered support via the Course to Court project. It was support from start to finish, which included help with pre-practical administration in the form of weekly updates on the learners progress, right through to licence and eligibility criteria support, through to free shirts and whistles.
"This was a huge boost to the candidates, as one thing I tried to remove was the barrier of cost. A new referee will pay out £190 before actually stepping onto a court, so the project reduced this significantly, keeping candidates invested in wanting to complete the course.
"Dan was a huge help to the candidates and reached out to them, holding their hand during the licensing process, which we all know can be quite technically confusing. Many of the candidates have licensed once again to referee this season."
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