The second half of 2022 consisted of a lot of firsts – my first ever FIBA appointment, working Summer Ball across NYC and a trip to Indonesia, along with my first non-white white Christmas.
Mid July was a really cool experience, as I travelled across the Atlantic Ocean to Debrecen for the U17 Women’s World Cup. I was fortunate enough to work my first ever FIBA appointment on the show court on day 1 of the tournament alongside fellow Aussie, James Grigoul. Across the 9 days of competition I met some lovely officials, was challenged by language barriers, with fellow officials and locals; including a tailor to have my uniform altered. I did however successfully learn Köszönöm (thank-you in Hungarian) as a key for my morning coffee stops. Along with working games, I was able to capture the beautiful buildings in Debrecen and local area we stayed at. I’ve found my photography has allowed me to really embrace and admire the cities I am able to travel to across my officiating career so far.
Finishing off this trip working a Semi Final and the Bronze medal match was an added bonus on top of the experiences I had.
Back in New York I had my first taste of the hyped Summer Ball that takes place across a number of tournaments. The vibe, enthusiasm and definitely the crowd at some of these games I worked was nothing I have been around before. I worked a game in Upper Manhattan with a Top High School pick where there was no sideline due to the crowd surrounding the court, cameras out and even swarming the backcourt when his team were in the front court, just to get a better view on the play (it’s one of those have to be there to really understand it situations but I hope that paints the picture well enough). This seemed to be a regular occurrence across a number of games I worked, especially the games I worked in The Bronx with local kids playing college coming back to play, bringing out some big crowds! I’d say these games have been some of the best in terms of athleticism, highlight reels and energy I have worked in the States so far – definitely a cool experience I won’t forget!
Finishing up the year with another big trip over to Indonesia which quickly turned into a surprise visit home to see my family came at the perfect time! I spent a week back in south east Queensland seeing most of my family and enjoying the beautiful Sunshine Coast. This was a perfect refresh before heading back to New York to continue working towards the goal of making it to the NBA!
Wrapping up the year for working the floor was at the G-League Showcase with the NBA Global Academy games. I worked the first of 2 games over the weekend with some of the top players in the Academy program.
I am excited to share what 2023 brings on my journey with you all after wrapping up my 2022 with 2 of my sisters and their kids visiting for a white Christmas with no snow (the longest winter period without snow since 1973).
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