Sports Journalist Rawle Toney is the lone representative named by the Guyana Basketball Official Council (GBOC) and by extension the Guyana Amateur Basketball Federation (GABF), to participate in the Caribbean Basketball Confederation (CBC)/FIBA Americas Referee Certification Clinic, set for the Cayman Islands from April 9 – 12.
A check on the Federation of International Basketball Association (FIBA) website (www.fiba.com) shows that presently, Guyana does not have any certified officials, since the most recent, Aubrey Young, Sherwin Henry and Lugard Mohan were taken off the list due to inactivity.
According to FIBA, in order to be eligible for certification, “the referee cannot be older than 35 years of age when taking part in a FIBA Clinic for Referee Candidates and will not be considered FIBA Active Referee after the age of 50”
The World governing body for basketball further stated “In order to obtain the title of FIBA Referee, the candidates must be proposed officially by their member federation, participate in a Clinic for FIBA Referee Candidates, pass theoretical (basketball rules) and physical fitness and practical (officiating the game) tests”
Toney is the youngest official in the small pool of referees in Guyana has been a regular feature with the whistle at games in the city. Under the guidance of Lugard Mohan, the GBOC has taken a more professional approach and has since been seeking to attract more youths to become referees.
“Being a referee is something I wish I had done earlier. If I had known how good it feels officiating in the sport that I love, I would’ve stop playing basketball a long time ago” Toney said.
“As a player, I use to be the type that gave the officials a hard time; always questioning their calls because I thought that I knew more than some of them. After my interest to play the game went away, I stuck to just reporting on the games and I still use to question of the decisions made by the officials. Then I was encouraged by Lugard (Mohan) when he helped put the GBOC together to pick up officiating” he further added.
In 2012, Toney was a standout at a Pre-Certification course hosted by the then David Patterson led GABF and was conducted by FIBA Referee Instructor Glyne Clarke, where he (Toney) gained a 75% pass mark which was by far, the highest of the 10 persons who participated and also passed his fitness test.
In his report to the CBC and the GABF, Clarke had noted that in his opinion “none of the referees that attended the attending the clinic was ready for FIBA certification but Rawle Toney, who is not a practicing referee was keen and readily understood the concepts of officiating”.
Though a registered Member of GBOC since the GABF affiliate’s conception, the then referee’s council head Cecil Chin had told the FIBA Instructor other wise and as such had prevented Toney from attending a Certification Course that was held in St Lucia.
“That happened for a reason” Toney said, adding “my knowledge of the game has expanded, I’ve become more confident in myself and carrying the whistle and a lot has changed from then to now”
As it relates to being ready to join a short list – four to be exact – of referees who were able to gain FIBA Certification, Toney pointed out “It’s not as easy as it seem but the good thing is that I’m always reading and putting the rules into practice. Also, I must say that those who have went before, especially Lugard and Aubrey Young, have been very supportive and encouraging. Those two I can call on anytime to help explain something. Not to mention that they let me know straight up what I did wrong and how to correct it”
With regards to receiving funding, according to Toney “It’s challenging but I admire the support received so far from the GABF, especially Mr. (Nigel) Hinds and GBOC in ensuring that I get to the Cayman Islands. It was sort of a short notice to me but with the CBC Championship coming up and Guyana sending a team, I don’t want let the opportunity slip. In everything thing we do, we all want to reach the pinnacle and by attending the clinic its one step closer to me reaching mine”
At the moment, Toney is officiating in the GABF’s ‘Road to Mecca’ Basketball tournament that is now down to the finals that will be played between Linden’s Retrieve Raiders and Georgetown’s Ravens and the Sports Journalist by profession has had his share of ‘big games’ donning the ‘Black and white stripes’.
“I’ve officiated every game night in the tournament and was told that I would be one of the three referees in the Finals on Sunday. I think I had to be doing something right to get if not most, all of the ‘big games’ in the tournament. I’ve had my share of criticism but I honestly laugh at them because those persons use to be me, always questioning the official calls. This tournament is valuable practice and im happy to receive the ‘go-a-head’ from GBOC” Toney said.