Thessaloniki (Greece) – The FIBA Referee Instructor Programme reaches its final stage today as a four-day intensive workshop begins in Thessaloniki, Greece. This face-to-face event follows a long selection process that started back in September. Finally 23 candidates secured their spots in this group after successfully navigating three weeks of Pre-Study and six weeks of Home-Study. Having passed all previous assessments, these participants are now on the verge of becoming masters of profitable training methods and facilitating referees’ learning.

The schedule is demanding, with sessions running from morning until evening to maximise the limited time together. The first two days are dedicated entirely to Teaching and Learning modules, providing the candidates with the pedagogical tools needed to educate others. On the third day, the group moves to the basketball court to apply basketball knowledge in a practical setting with a WABC basketball coach. The workshop then concludes on the fourth day with a deep dive into specialised refereeing knowledge details and training methods.

Among the candidates, expectations are high for both personal and professional growth. Tamas Benczur from Hungary is looking forward to the group work, noting that while he is a former player, viewing the game through an instructor's lens requires new methodological development and better feedback techniques. Markos Michaelides from Switzerland aims to refine his soft skills to deliver FIBA guidelines to referees more effectively. Similarly, Elias Kounelles from Cyprus is focused on improving his presentation methods to better support the development of new referees in his home country. Together, these 23 individuals from across 17 nations are working to strengthen the global officiating community through high-level instruction.

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FIBA REFEREE INSTRUCTOR PROGRAMME (FRIP) is part of a FIBA Global Refereeing Structure strategy. FRIP is a qualification programme to ensure standard quality and trained skills among those who are actually working with the referees. Currently, there are over 200 FRIP Level 1 Qualified Referee Instructors.