Basic Officiating Terms
1 . Rotation - Live ball movement whereby the official in the lead position moves to get ball side
2.
Strong Side — The side of the floor that the "lead" and “trail” officials are on
3.
Weak Side — The side of the floor that the "center' official is on
4.
Ball Side - The side of the floor that the ball is on
5.
Close Down — Movement of the lead official to the near lane line
6.
Active Rotations — Looking for purposeful reasons to rotate to ensure that officials always have
strong side and ball side in "harmony"
7.
Accelerated Pace — Alternate speeds that are required by the lead official to rotate to the new
strong-side to meet the needs of the play
8.
Top Side — Moving high in the center position to the tip of the circle in refereeing in the position
with a trail mentality
9.
Trail Mentality — Officiating in the center position as if you were officiating in the trial position by
moving higher towards the tip of the circle and on to the court
10.
Purposeful movement — Moving a quick step down in the center position towards the endline to
get an open angle in these 3 play actions:
a
Quick jump shot.
b
Quick drive to the basket.
c
Quick drive to elbow of key (endline and free throw line juncture)
11.
Switches — Changing positions during a dead ball after a foul is called; calling official reports and
(typically) goes tableside, tableside official replaces the calling official
12. Primary Coverage — The area of responsibility for each official
13.
Secondary Coverage — Help you can provide outside of your area of responsibility to assist one of
your partners
14.
Dual Coverage — The areas on the floor where areas of responsibility between officials overlap
15.
Primary Whistle — First whistle that comes from the official that is responsible for the
16.
Secondary Whistle — Second whistle in the one, two cadence that is blown after the official with
primary responsibility is given a chance to blow
17.
RSBQ — Rhythm, speed, balance, quickness
18.
Referee the Defense — Judging the legality of the defensive player on I-on-I situations
19.
Call the Obvious — Call the fouls that everyone in the gym sees — the ones that even grandma
can see from the nosebleed section
20.
Incidental Contact — Contact that occurs between two or more players that are in equally
favorable/unfavorable positions but a foul has not been committed
21.
Trust Your Partners — Having faith in your partners to blow the whistle in their primary and not
to interfere with their judgments unless there is "high certainty" that secondary coverage views
require a whistle in noting an obvious infraction/foul
22.
Good Partnering — Trusting your partner, but knowing when you have to help them out and get a
foul they may not be able to see
23.
Staying in Your Primary — Only making calls in your area of responsibility
24.
Positioning Adjustments — Moving at your position to create an open angle
25.
Action Area — Anywhere on the floor where we have a competitive match-up (pick-and roll,
eminent attempt to score, double high screen, multiple defenders)
26.
Certainty Calls — Calls that can be validated by video tape
27.
High Certainty Calls — Calls made in crucial moments or in secondary coverage areas in a game
that are obvious to everyone in the gym (end-of-game situations, etc.)
28.
Dual Whistles — Whistles from more than one official that come at the same time, for plays that
have overlapping areas of responsibility
29.
Double Whistles — Primary and secondary whistles that occur from different officials seeing
separate angles to a play
30.
High Slot Positioning — Normally no higher than the tip of the circle
31.
Low Slot Positioning — Normally no lower than the bottom tip of the circle
32.
Open Angles — When an official is able to see between the match-up and observe the defensive
and offensive player
33.
Closed Angles — When an official is not able to see between the match-up and observe the
defensive player (straight-lined)
34.
Competitive Match-Up — When a defensive player is closely guarding an offensive player
35.
Mirroring the Ball — Lead positioning anytime the ball is below the bottom tip of the circle. The
lead must direct his primary attention to both players in a I-on-I situation.
36.
Pinching the Paint — Lead must quickly step into the lane area and create an open angle by
pinching the paint on plays that come from the center sider plays down the middle of the key and
on plays that come directly down the lead's side lane line. Step in, and then leave the lane.
37.
Start, Develop, Finish — Have patience! For high certainty calls watch the play from beginning to
end
