FIMBA World Maxibasketball Championships Argentina - Rob Ref 2023

Quite a few of my friends have recently looked on this page.
And YES, I am refereeing in Ticino and very much look forward to meeting lots of the new froends I made in Mar del Plata. ARÑrgentina in 2023 and also in Pesaro, Italy in 2024!🏀😁

Watch the draw for this year's FIMBA Ticino 2025 world championships live on YouTube on May 27th 2025.

Fabulous weekend - again at the Galway Masters Basketball Tournament- saying goodbye darkness, my old friend in the Guinness bar in Dublin Airport - travelling to Bristol and on to see Elsa😁

Refereed at North Devon BBC, Bideford which is my closest venue last night. Only 23 miles but over a mountain and two river estuaries to get there.
Very high 10m tide last night on the River Torridge made for a great tug boat pic.

Heard a lovely story from one of the GB female rowers who just won an Olympic Gold Medal in the 4's in Paris. She lost her dad recently, but when she was a young girl she had written in her diary that she wanted to be an Olympian but then ripped the page out of it, but then and threw it away.
Her father found the page and kept it and then presented it to her a few years later and reminded her dreams and inspired her to believe in herself.
She is now not only an Olympian but an Olympic champion
Her message was that parents and teachers have an opportunity to instill belief in a child before a child can do it for themselves.
A beautiful thought for me as I have had the honour to have been both a teacher and parent in my lifetime.

Who'd have believed Dave Woods and I would referee our last of 17 games at the FIMBA European Championships in Pesaro Italy recently with an exhausting double òvertime win by 3 for Ireland 🇮🇪 over Unijaca from Malaga Spain🇪🇸 and then be invited to join them for a sing song and photos! Brilliant!🏀

Got to be done
Love the sun
Now cooked and done
Play the Italians at the Rome game
Sit all alone
But surrounded by friends just like home

Big welcome of "ROBBIEEEEEE!" on the bus in Pesaro for my first game in the FIMBA European Championships with ladies from Costa Rica who I also refereed at the World FIMBA Maxibasketball championships in Argentina in September🏀

Visiting meals on wheels for fathers day from Elsa providing healthy eating with one of my favourite meals in fillet steak tatare with anchovies,capers, gherkins,raw egg, onion, tabsco with a great mayo with garlic and truffle olive oil with waffle fries.Washed down with a lovely bottle of Montepuliciano D'Abbruzo 🍷🍷

Looking forward with pride and excitement to another chapter in my seemingly endless Basketball Refereeing adventure 😁🏀