Official (basketball)

Official (basketball)

In basketball, an official is a person who has the responsibility to enforce the rules and maintain the order of the game. The title of official also applies to the scorers and timekeepers, as well as other personnel that have an active task in maintaining the game. Basketball is regarded as among the most difficult sports to officiate, due to the speed of play and instantaneous judgement required.

Officials are usually referred to as referees, however generally there is one lead referee and one or two umpires, depending on whether there is a two or three person crew. In the NBA, the lead official is called the crew chief and the other two officials are "referees". In FIBA-sanctioned play, two-man crews consist of a referee and an umpire, and three-man crews contain a referee and two umpires. Regardless, both classes of officials have equal rights to control almost all aspects of the game. In most cases, the lead official (In FIBA, the referee) performs the jump ball to begin the contest, though NFHS and NCAA recently has allowed the referee to designate which official (referee or umpire) shall perform the jump ball.