MIES (Switzerland) - Officiating duo Maripier Malo of Canada and Yasmina Alcaraz of Spain have both been sharing their experiences of the widely heralded FIBA Referee Maternity Plan.

The initiative was launched by FIBA to ensure that women can continue pursuing their respective refereeing careers, while also choosing to lead fulfilling lives as mothers off the court.

A part of FIBA's strategic priority, Women in Basketball, the FIBA Referee Maternity Plan was drawn up after extensive consultation and feedback. It was designed in response to some concerns from female referees who might be reluctant to start a family or be put off from officiating either side of their pregnancy. 

Maripier Malo officiating at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games

With a number of women on the maternity plan having now successfully returned to refereeing, Maripier and Yasmina gave their unique insights while speaking on the 'Women In Officiating Webinar' series.

Having already been nominated to a couple of events this year at the global level, they openly shared the hard work it took to return so quickly to refereeing and how the maternity plan has helped.

They also offered some advice on what really helped them with the whole process and also what National Federations, international bodies and even other referees can do to help mothers before, during and after their pregnancy. 

Malo stated: "The maternity plan that FIBA launched gives great guidance in how to support referees. I felt so inspired when I saw it was launched. I was pregnant at the time and thought perfect timing- this is cool.

"It gives you some confidence that you can go through it and you will have support and people around you. Things that make the difference is communication and collaboration.

"It is such a challenge as everyone will go through motherhood differently. The reality needs to be tailored, since general plans are good, but we can not underestimate the impact of communication in a phase that feels like a loss of identity when you have to put your life on hold."

She continued: "It was about three months for me between birth and coming back. I was probably not in perfect shape, but was in good enough shape to get back to it. 

"We [me and Yasmina] chatted a lot along the way so we could help each other. Every woman is different. There are so many factors."

Yasmina Alcaraz officiating at the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 2022 in Australia

Yasmina explained how she was also back on the court quickly, but how she still had to show a lot of patience in the early days after having her baby.

She said: "It was about three and half months between giving birth and my first game. My fitness was not the same, but it was good enough to start officiating. I also did some local games before this to practice.

"It was a short time. For active people like me, it was so hard to be at home a lot. The professional people told me the best thing I could do was to recover first."

The Spaniard also insisted that for any female referees thinking about starting a family, they should have confidence that they can do so and will be fully backed on and off the floor.

She insisted: "Don't hesitate. We have doubts about whether competitions will forget about us. But with this maternity plan, we can see that FIBA does not forget us. It's important that they know they will be supported."

Carl Jungebrand, FIBA Head of Refereeing, also said:  "The purpose is to ensure the referees are able to return back safely to refereeing. 

"We're now witnessing the outcomes firsthand. Our top referees are returning to the game safely following their maternity leave, free from concerns about the varying timeframes for their comeback, which are inherently unique to each individual."

"I am very happy to see this program is paying off and we will keep collaborating with those who went through the FIBA Referee Maternity Plan. We have had over 10 referees from the last licensing period, and six have already returned," he concluded. 

FIBA