Poor behaviour, referee abuse and respectful conduct will continue to be in focus heading into the Launceston Basketball Association's 2022 season after a difficult season concludes.
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The LBA became growingly concerned over the behaviour displayed at matches towards matches officials by spectators, coaches and parents.
"It's really come out of nowhere this year, it's really hard to predict why that's the case I think our product has actually gotten better, we've offered one of the best products we ever have," LBA general manager Mitch Duhig said.
"People's expectations of everything from scheduling to facilities to referees standards have just been almost unattainable for a small group."
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Duhig cited examples of angry phone calls to him after parents and spectators emails to club volunteers went unanswered for three hours as examples of the "excessive" behaviour displayed this season.
"From a club volunteer point of view, even our paid staff like our referees, match managers and myself, I think we've all had a stage this year wanting to almost pull up stumps from the frustration and just failing to meet the impossible expectations that people have," he said.
Earlier this year, an anonymous letter was shared to the LBA's Facebook page which detailed the plight of local basketball referees.
"I ask you all if this were your son, daughter, brother, or sister refereeing, would you want them to be abused almost every time they step on the court to officiate?," the letter read.
"I feel I could safely say you would not wish this upon them. So, it raises the question, why is the constant abuse increasing more and more, rather than being cut out."
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South East Devils' player Jamie Mesman was suspended this season for eight games after an incident of referee abuse during an LBA fixture.
The LBA integrated Glory League this year to enable spectators to view basketball action online but it has also served to identify referee abuse throughout games.
"One thing that does frustrate me is the amount of time, it's just a time sink, so the amount of time spent dedicated to dealing with behavioural issues in terms of issuing letters, viewing video footage, speaking to people, collecting witness' statements is time taken away from the development of basketball," Duhig said.
It is understood that there is some frustration at junior games being scheduled at 9.30pm at times this season from within the league.
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That court shortage saw the Tornadoes required to train 54 kilometres away at Deloraine because of the lack of court availability in Launceston during the season.
Duhig said after the incidents of the 2021 season, the LBA was working on a stricter policy to deal with what they see as poor behaviour.
"[It's about] demonstrating that we won't except it, which will include the removal of spectators from stadiums, suspensions of players, breach of code of conduct letters and so on," he said.
"We're taking some firm action to say this is not on this is not okay."
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