The Juneau-Douglas Officials Association is offering training for new basketball officials before the 2017-18 season.

JDOA umpire-in-chief Joel Osborn is conducting classroom study sessions for Alaska School Activities Association certification every Tuesday in the month of October.

JDOA officiates both middle and high school basketball games in Juneau.

The first middle school basketball game is Oct. 26. The high school basketball season’s first day of practice is Nov. 29.

The sessions, which begin Oct. 3, will go from 6-8 p.m. in Thunder Mountain High School’s room C-105.

The pool of basketball referees in Juneau has dipped over the last few years, according to varsity referee Ron Taug.

“Over the years we’ve had some good officials but we’ve had five varsity officials leave Juneau for work,” he said.

Taug estimated that half of the high school games in Juneau last year were officiated by mostly out-of-town officials. This puts an extra expense on the school district, who pays for the cost of travel and lodging for them.

First-year officials cover between 10-20 JV and C team games, according to Osborn. Varsity games are typically handled by those with more than one year of experience officiating.

For more information, contact Joel Osborn at 209-7897.