Recreational Sports and Wellness put together a training session for students to teach the skills of being an official in charge of a basketball event.

“Intramural Basketball Referee Training” took place on Jan. 31 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. in the Pennington Student Activity Center, Room 108.

Jason Templet, coordinator of competitive sports, described the process for the referee training.

“Our referee basketball training consists of several days of training,” said Templet. “Today was the interest meeting along with some video and classroom training. Then next week on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, there will be some on-court training for our officials. Thursday of next week will also include some practice games to help our referees train. So, today’s training just consisted mainly of classroom work, and next week, they will be active on the courts.”

Seth Thomas, director of the rec center, explained why this event was important.

“The training is important because we want to put competent officials on the courts and fields to provide the best atmosphere for all of our participants,” said Thomas.

Thomas outlined some skills students gained from attending this session that will be helpful in the real world.

“Officiating provides different skills that students can learn and use them in their careers after college,” relayed Thomas. “Some of the skills that can be learned from officiating intramural sports are teamwork, communication, decision making, accountability, problem-solving and conflict resolution.”

For upcoming dates on more Intramural sports events happening on campus, visit the intramural sports page on the university website.