NSBO President’s Report

2004 Spring GM

April 25, 2004

            Welcome to the 2004 Spring General Meeting of NSBO.

1.      Congratulations:

            Congratulations to all NSBO Award winners that will be announced by Awards Committee chair Sam McNeish at this meeting.

            Also, congratulations and thanks to both Lindsay Steele and Angela Weld for their dedication and service as Executive members of NSBO. Both of these conscientious members will be missed as they worked very hard on behalf of all of our members.

2.      Rules:

            It appears that the second last step in the adoption of a uniform rule set within NS will be implemented late this month, when it is expected the NSSAF Board of Governors will adopt the NSSAF District Coordinators’ recommendation to adopt the CIS rule set. This would leave the CIS Women as our only client still utilizing FIBA rules.

            I would encourage all NSBO members to visit www.nsbo.net and begin to familiarize themselves with the differences between FIBA and CIS rules. There is an excellent comparison on the site that was authored by CABO’s National Interpreter Paul Deshaies.

3.      AUS Selection Process:

All officials (existing and new candidates) interested in the AUS panel for the 2004/2005 season should send an email to the AUS Selection Committee chair (Reg Jewkes-rjewkes@tru.eastlink.ca) to confirm their interest.

4.      Summer Events:

It is shaping up to be another busy summer on the NS basketball landscape. With both the FIBA U21 Americas zone qualifier at the Metro Centre and the Canada Basketball Boys’ and Girls’ Midget championships at SMU there will be no shortage of great basketball action. Also, with the NBA Hoop-It-Up 3-on-3, the BNS Bluenose Classic and the usual plethora of summer leagues, officials wishing to stay sharp should have no problem.

Additionally, Cape Breton Supervisor Sandy Kearney and Metro Halifax Supervisor Nick Morash are coordinating a summer meeting of Area Supervisors to address common problems and find solutions around the province.

Once again I would like to thank all of our Executive members for the fine work they do on a daily basis. It seems that each year these members are asked to do more and more for fewer and fewer thank yous. Over the past couple of months I have had many members around the province contact me to express their gratitude for the work you do!

I would challenge all of our members to do their part to make NSBO a stronger organization. In order to do this, all of our members, especially our Level 2, 3 and 4 officials, have to be prepared to not only point out perceived shortcomings but also offer solutions for improvement. It is critical that all of us are “givers”, and not just “takers”!

Have a great summer!

Jonathan Hunt

NSBO President