Young basketball ref making his mark

Young basketball referee D'Arcy Hika-Munroe at the HoopNation tournament held over Labour Weekend. PHOTO/ANDREW WARNER

The 2017 HoopNation basketball tournament held over Labour Weekend made as big an impact on the local Western Bay economy as much as on court at the five venues used.

The sheer scale of the event is a pointer to the ever increasing popularity of basketball across all age groups and also to Tauranga's reputation as the premier tournament venue in New Zealand.

Male and female teams contested the under-13, 15, 17, 19, social, A-League and Elite divisions. There were former NZ Breakers and Tall Blacks squad members, mums and dads playing for the sheer love of the sport, and young kids with a glint in their eye at the thought of maybe one day emulating Rotorua's Steven Adams and making it to the NBA.

Tournaments like HoopNation could not operate without volunteers, who did their job with unfailing humour throughout the weekend, and not forgetting the referees.

Basketball referees, like the players at the tournament, crossed the age spectrum from the experience of Tauranga's Cliff Horne to a group of teenaged refs learning their craft in the white-hot heat of highly competitive matches.

Titans vs Lokey. Tauranga's Zac Preston. HoopsNation Tauranga. 22 October 2017 Bay of Plenty Times Photograph by Andrew Warner. BTG 23Oct17 -

One of the leading young refs coming through the system is D'Arcy Hika-Munroe, 17, a Year 12 student at Bethlehem's Te Wharekura o Mauao.

He was in action over the three days of the HoopNation tournament. He is looking forward to the opportunity to again referee at the 2018 Australian Country Junior Basketball Cup to be held in the City of Wodonga, New South Wales.

It will be the third time he has officiated at the tournament that will attract 700 players, including teams from New Zealand.

The Country Cup has a close association with Western Bay of Plenty, with four teams and four referees travelling to ASB Baypark Arena to take part in this year's Mel Young Easter Basketball Classic.

Hika-Munroe started refereeing at the age of 13, beginning with intermediate age groups before moving up to college basketball.

He was selected to referee at the Australian Country Cup as part of a programme run by Basketball Pacific.

"Not many referees from New Zealand get selected at this kind of tournament. I got picked this year after officiating at the Easter tournament in Tauranga," he said.

"From the other two I have been to, I have learned different perspectives of officiating. Like in Australia, the officiating is very strict compared to New Zealand. We will let a few things go and stuff."

So far in his young career Hika-Munroe has had plenty of help from the likes of Basketball New Zealand's Jilly Harris and Cliff Horne from Tauranga City Basketball.

He has some clear goals he would like to reach as a basketball referee.

"Short term-wise I just want to get a national final per year and then long term get appointed into the national basketball league (NBL) where I can do Breakers games and possibly FIBA matches."