For the players at the European Championship for U18 Women, the competition  is a learning curve. All part of their continuing educational experience as basketball players.

But it is not only the players who are here to learn, it is also the case for the referees. Qualifying as a FIBA referee is one step in a long journey towards becoming a top level official. Just like players, international referees must continually learn and improve if they are to stay at the top of their game.

The continued education of officials is a task that FIBA Europe takes seriously. Here in Bratislava at the European Championship for U18 Women there are 16 referees, one from each of the participating countries plus 4 from neutral countries.

Accompanying them are a FIBA Referee Instructor and Tutor.

Mr. Mihai Aldea is in Bratislava in his role as a Referee Instructor, a position he has held since 1996 when the post was first given international recognition by FIBA.

It is his task to oversee the education of referees in his native country of Romania. Having called over 300 international games in his own officiating career, Aldea is more than qualified for the job.

		FIBA Referee Shay Shtriks

"Our role here (in Bratislava) is to watch the performance of the referees," says Mr Aldea. "To remark what they do well, what they do badly and to analyse and discuss their performance.

"Our job is not only to tell them that they made a wrong decision, but to discuss with them why."

Along with Referee Tutor Gregorz Ziemblicki, Aldea is in the arena for 12 hours per day, evaluating the performances of the referees. After each game, a discussion is held with the officials.

As well as these post-game talks, each referee is required to watch tapes of their games with their partner official in order to analyse their performance.

In addition, meetings are held with all the referees in which each person is asked to present the key situations in their games.

"The procedure is to invite the referees to explain to the others what they called wrong, what they didn't call and why they made other calls," says Aldea.

"All of these techniques are new," he continues. "We are trying to be much closer to the game and to help the referees, to use the videos and to help referees to protect the image of the game and of FIBA Europe.

It is a technique that, according to Aldea, seems to be working and he says that he has seen "visible progress" in the level of officiating.

Not only are the referees benefiting from the increased attention to their performance, but the players can also learn from the officials.

"As a principle, basketball is the same for all age categories," Aldea says.

"But for youth players, its important for the referees to contribute towards their education and their attitude and respect for the rules. I think that sometimes referees have tough relationships with young players, but we must be as flexible as possible and to teach with co-operation rather than force."