CAPITAL basketball whistler Chris Dodds is keeping his fingers crossed that he will be chosen to go to Poland next September when Great Britain, hopefully with Scots Robert Archibald and Kieron Achara in the side, play for the first time in the Eurobasket finals, the 2009 European Championships.
But selected or not – he is potentially one of only five in Britain who could – the former Boroughmuir club player has literally come a very long way since he qualified as an international referee.
"I've certainly been clocking up the air miles
recently," says Dodds, who is now employed by Tayside as a regional basketball manager.
"Refereeing has been like a European Tour for me – even just in 2008 I've been to Spain, Luxembourg, Germany, Latvia, Portugal, Denmark, France (four times) and I am squeezing a game in Italy before Christmas."
Dodds has been officiating at men's EuroChallenge Cup games and women's Euroleague games, including a prestigious quarter-final in Valencia last season.
"I really enjoy being involved at an elite level of the sport – the pressure is something to thrive on and constantly challenges me to improve myself. Getting to see all the different cities and cultures is amazing, and to sample different cuisine and wines after the game is of course an added bonus."
A dedicated Jambo, Dodds adds: "Any sustained involvement in Europe is especially welcome!"
Back in 2006, Dodds was "crew chief" (senior official) on the Commonwealth Games men's semi-final between England and Australia, and was named as fourth official for the final in Melbourne.
Domestically he is a regular in the British League, having refereed the BBL Trophy Final in 2007 and the BBL Cup Final in 2008 and in Scotland he is heavily involved in the development and mentoring of young referees – they could hardly have a better role model.
The full article contains 313 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
