Chantal Julien

Chantal Julien (FRA) will be one of the referees officiating games at the 2003 European Championship for Women in Greece. Since becoming a FIBA referee in 1997, Julien has officiated games at the Euroleague Women Final Four (1999), the Asian Championship for Women (2001) and the World Championship for Women (2002). Currently a sports teacher in her hometown of Mandelieu-La-Napoule in France, Julien spends most of her free time with her passion for basketball, calling games and constantly working to improve. We caught up with her in Greeece to discuss her career as a referee at the top level.

What is your background in basketball?

Julien: I started to play when I was 15 years old and played 10 years in the 1st division in France (Challes-les-Eaux and Tarbes). My father was a player and a coach, and he used to take me with him when I was child. That’s where my passion in basketball started.

Why did you decide to become a referee?

Julien: My club needed some referees to officiate during weekends. I met some referees during a tournament and started to discuss with them their passion for refereeing. One day, one of them told me that as an ex-player, I could become a good referee because of my knowledge of basketball.
So, I started to call games on a regional level. And I never stopped because I kept moving up every year to the next level.

How difficult is it to juggle a refereeing career with a professional working career?

Julien: I’m lucky with my job that I stay in the same world, the sports world. I’m a sports teacher and work for my town, Mandelieu-La-Napoule (close to Cannes). I teach all sports in primary schools, children from 6 to 12 years old.

For 4 years, I have had a “high level statute”. It means that I have an official substitute teacher. When I leave for a game or a competition, he’s working instead of me. I’m happy to have this agreement to practice my passion for basketball in the best way possible. I can train and prepare myself correctly to try to be better.

What would be a typical week's schedule for you including working as a teacher and calling games?

Julien: During each week, I’m at work all afternoon (from 2:00 to 4:30 pm) with schools. Every Wednesday afternoon I am at my club to train children in basketball. I have two evenings to train myself and stay in good physical condition. Two mornings are for adults in the gym. 1 or 2 evenings a week I work on video (games from the last week). And every weekend, I travel through France to officiate my games in PRO A.

When and how do referees practice? Is it only during games or can refs also train like players do?

Julien: Training for a referee consists of physical and technical training. Its means video work, jogging, sometimes training with a  basketball team, organising clinics for young referees of my area who want to became good referees with observers, rules meeting, video work...

It’s necessary for a referee to stay in a basketball atmosphere to have a good knowledge and continue to learn about new techniques (defense, offense....). Games are not enough to keep referees at their highest level.

What type of game do you prefer to call (men/women/cadets etc) and why?

Julien: Men and women games are different. I like to call both of them. I like men’s games because it’s physical and spectacular. Women’s games are pleasant to call because of the quality of play (tactics, teamwork, smarts....) and more and more physical. There is a lot of contact like the men during high level competitions like the World Championship. Some of the women can dunk.  Under the basket, there is often fighting like in men’s games.

Psychologically, relations with women are easier because of my experience as a player. I can understand them more easily and can explain to them some special situations (why I called, why I didn’t call, be careful of contacts inside, etc...).

What for you is the toughest part of refereeing?

Julien: In refereeing, the toughest part is that you’re often alone (during travel, far from everywhere, after games, sometimes against a difficult crowd). When you have a bad game, you have to think again about your decisions and have your own opinion about your calls (good or not...). Often, you have one team that is not happy because of the result. We must decide very quickly and make important decisions at the end of games with 1-point difference for example. The losers are often unhappy.

It is often difficult to listen to the fans. They want their team to win, so they say very difficult words, especially for a woman.

What is the most enjoyable part?

Julien: The most enjoyable part is that you can participate in most of the best levels of basketball, travel all over the world to officiate different kinds of basketball, meet people, discuss with them about a lot of subjects (of life, basketball, kind of work to progress to become a good referee, etc....).

Relationships with good players on the court can be very interesting, especially for a woman who calls women’s games. I think I can have better relations because of my career as a player. I can show them with my experience that I know basketball.

What type of person (character-wise) makes a good referee?

Julien: I think to be a good referee, you need a strong character, you need to accept your mistakes to be better. For example, if you make a wrong call, if you accept when you discuss with the coach or the player that you’re not sure or maybe you’re wrong, it means that you can get better after and your relationship on the court will progress. The team respects you after some of those discussions.

To be a good referee, you must show the players and coaches that you must be respected. Sometimes, to show teams where the border in the relationship is, you have to shout and use your own ways to explain your philosophy.

You must look for perfection. After each game, you must think about your mistakes, your decisions (if you can with video, it’s the best).

I think for a woman, you need a stronger character than a man.
 
What has been the highlight of your career so far and why?

Julien: First was when my federation ask me to take the FIBA Exam because for me, I was new in this world but I was very happy for sure.

After, the best souvenir I have in my career is the World Championship for Women in China where I called the final with another woman referee.

This tournament was organised in a fantastic country with a different kind of life than in Europe. Asian people are very kind. We were 8 women during this competition and it was the first time in the history of FIBA. I’m proud about that.

What advice would you offer to young people who want to reach the top level as a referee?

Julien: First, know basketball (train in a team 1 or 2 times a week, go to watch training of a high level team, ...)

Second, work with another referee of a good level who can observe your officiating and speak about it after. You can’t progress alone. You need another opinion from a person different than you. Try to select your calls to let the play flow as much as possible.

Be sure when you call that something really happened. Don’t imagine contacts or violations. You must be able to explain all your calls (coach, players,...)

Work on your mechanics to find the best position to take the best decision.