Referee Has Eyes Set on Athens

Referee Has Eyes Set on Athens

A ‘life of basketball’ is taking Christchurch referee Bruce Martin to the Special Olympics in Greece this week, if he can dodge the volcanic ash cloud from Chile, riots in Athens and of course Christchurch’s on-going aftershocks.

Martin, a trades technician at CPIT, is due to fly out of Christchurch tonight (Wednesday 22 June) in time for the opening ceremony on 25 June of one of the biggest sporting events of the year. The 13th Special Olympics World Games (SOWG) brings together 7,500 athletes with a learning difficulty, 2,500 coaches and 3,000 officials from 185 countries. They will participate in 22 different sports.

Challenges aside, Martin is looking forward to the opening ceremony. This is his second SOWG, having attended as an official for the Dublin games of 2003, and the spectacular opening ceremony before a crowd of 85,000 was one highlight of that trip.

Another highlight was the athletes themselves. “The athletes get one chance in a lifetime to represent their country in their chosen sport. Well they can attend again in another sport but that is quite difficult for people with learning difficulties,” he said.

“I remember in Dublin there was an Italian referee, he stood about six-foot-six tall. This little Downs Syndrome girl high-fived him – she had to jump that far in the air to do it! There were touching moments like that and I look forward to more of them in Athens.”

Martin has been involved with club basketball in Christchurch for 49 years as a player, referee, volunteer, Executive member, floor controller and coordinator of volunteers. For 40 years he has contributed to local media to promote local basketball and for 18 years has worked with Special Olympics Basketball in Canterbury.

One of 21 International Basketball officials appointed independently, Martin is looking forward to refereeing one to two games per day of the 71 International Basketball teams competing at the games. New Zealand’s 35 strong Special Olympics World Summer Games team contains two local Canterbury Basketball players, Michael Friend and Craig Bennett.

Mens’ and women’s basketball will be played in the Olympic Indoor Hall of the Athens Olympic Sports Center with finals played on 2 and 3 July.

ENDS

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