MIES (Switzerland) - The referees to officiate games at the FIBA Women’s Olympic Qualifying Tournaments, which take place between 8 and 11 February, have been announced.

A total of 32 referees will be taking care of the games in Belgium, Brazil, China, and Hungary. There is a healthy dose of freshness in the group. The average age is 37.2 years. While the eldest is 49, the youngest is 31. The combined FIBA experience of this group is 272 years, with an average of 8 years.

The referees gathered for a two-day pre-competition camp in the host cities before the tournaments began. Various onsite and online sessions included studying the characteristics of women’s game and finetuning the common criteria. The Pre-Competition Preparation has started already in December ensuring seamless teamwork, consistent criteria, and approach across the board in all four venues.

Carl Jungebrand, FIBA Head of Refereeing, said: "These 32 FIBA referees have proven once again, a high-level of commitment and professionalism during the preparation period. The success of this group is based on seamless teamwork combined with a collective responsibility, regardless of the previous experience. Referees are required to prove their professional know-how in each game. This is nothing more or less than what players are doing as well. Personally, I would expect that the same trend and evolution will continue 'What was exceptional yesterday is standard today and will be outdated tomorrow.' "

FIBA