This upcoming season, the NBL1 South referee panel is composed of 75 referees with over 8,500 games of experience at the SEABL/NBL1 level, coming from every corner of Victoria and beyond, from Millicent, Albury and Tasmania.
Nine of those referees are new to the league as part of the NBL1 South Referee Development Program, which serves as our pathway for talented referees from Big V to NBL1.
The collective is lead by Basketball Victoria’s Technical Officials Elite Development Officer - Ruben Woolcock
The conference will have two more referees of note working their first seasons in NBL1 South: Mohammad Doost and Kenneth Widgeon Jr..
Mohammad is a FIBA Black License Referee from Iran who has relocated his family to Melbourne and has a wealth of experience working at the international level of basketball.
Ken has traveled from the USA for a full-time referee position with the NBL, with a background in Collegiate Basketball, Pro AM leagues, and NBA pathways.
NBL - Kenneth Widgeon Jr
The referee group was able to come together after the NBL1 South Blitz to conduct their annual preseason camp, during which they welcomed the new faces and discussed the unique and exciting changes to our league, such as the introduction of an instant replay system (IRS) function for game-deciding buzzer-beaters.
The referee panel also used this time to reflect on last season’s performanced, discuss areas for improvement, the causes of these issues, and strategies to overcome them during games.
Congratulations to the following referees on their selection to the NBL1 South 2024 referee panel.
NBL1 South 2024 Referee Panel (* Denotes first-year in NBL1 South)
| Andrew Hollowood | Daniel Nancarrow | Joshua Durand |
| Andrew Johnson | Danika Shepherd | Kahli Trist |
| Aydin Baker | David Farmers | Kaine Jefferies |
| Benjamin Shepherd | Dean McCarthy | Kash Gaitely |
| Bianca Vernon | Declan Hamilton | Ken Spratt |
| Blaine Krapljanov | Eden Kastrati | Kenneth Widgeon Jr * |
| Brad Henshaw | Elliot Green | Kyra Jacobson |
| Bradley Power | Emily Todorov | Leeann Burton |
| Brittany Andreola | Gemma Terrill | Manuel Olivares Iglesias |
| Bryce Reid | Hayden Neu | Mark Longworth |
| Cameron Crees | Ian Knight | Martin Parker |
| Campbell Fraser | Jacob Bolzonello | Meaghan Sheehy |
| Chloe Erskine | Jason Kelly | Mitch Jordan |
| Chris Morrey | Jeremy Morton | Mo Walipoor |
| Connor Westwood | Jessica Durand | Mohammad Doost * |
| Damian Lyons | Jordan Royal | Nathan Williams |
| Daniel Battye | Josh Nicholls | Niam Westaway |
Development Program
| Alex Scott |
| Anne-Marie Barker |
| Chloe Dunmore |
| Darcy Williams |
| James Kyriakopoulos |
| Joel Lay |
| Jordan Cooper |
| Matthew Robertson |
| Mitch Lay |
