By: Richard L. Smith
Basketball officials spend much of the season meeting in locker rooms, running up and down courts, blowing whistles and backing one another up through some of the toughest calls in the game.
Later this month, the whistles and striped shirts can take a break.
The International Association of Approved Basketball Officials (IAABO) is bringing its 2026 Fall Seminar to Middlesex County, where officials and organizational leaders from across the United States and beyond will gather September 17-20 at the Sheraton Edison.
For New Jersey’s basketball officiating community, having an event of this magnitude in our own backyard makes an already exciting time of year even more special.
As a longtime basketball official, member of IAABO Board 33 and its Public Relations Chairman, I am especially looking forward to being there. We are accustomed to seeing one another in uniform, having pregame and postgame conversations in locker rooms or working together on the floor.
This time, we’ll be in comfortable clothes, shaking hands, laughing, catching up and sharing our experiences away from the pressure of the game clock.
And that is part of what makes this weekend so special.
The seminar will feature educational workshops, organizational meetings, professional development sessions and networking opportunities as IAABO officials prepare for another basketball season.
“We’re excited to bring the IAABO Fall Seminar to Edison and to welcome our members to New Jersey,” IAABO Executive Director Donnie Eppley said. “This weekend is about much more than basketball officiating. It’s an opportunity to learn from one another, strengthen the relationships that make our organization special, and recognize individuals who have given so much of themselves to IAABO.”
The weekend will also include a golf tournament, adding another opportunity for officials and guests to fellowship and enjoy time together outside the gym.
Then, on Saturday, September 19, the weekend will culminate with IAABO’s prestigious Life Membership Banquet honoring the Life Member Class of 2026.
This year’s honorees include Jeff Benedict of Pennsylvania Board 67; Billy Martin of New Jersey Board 196; Nelson Ribon of New Jersey Board 194; Steve Rubbinaccio of New Jersey Board 33; and Jim Toomey of New York Board 36.
Life Membership is IAABO’s highest honor, recognizing individuals whose years of leadership, dedication and service have made a lasting contribution to the organization and the basketball officiating profession.
For those of us from Board 33, seeing our own Steve Rubbinaccio among this year’s honorees will make an already memorable weekend even more meaningful.
And this gathering isn’t something only officials should appreciate. Coaches, players and others interested in basketball are encouraged to learn more about what officials do, how IAABO boards operate and the preparation, education and teamwork that go into properly adjudicating a basketball game.
Officiating is much more than putting on a striped shirt and carrying a whistle. It is education, judgment, communication, preparation and a commitment to getting better every time we step onto the floor.
Founded in 1921, IAABO has spent more than a century educating, developing and advancing basketball officials.
For four days in September, that tradition will have a home right here in Edison.
And for New Jersey’s officiating family, it should be a phenomenal weekend — one where the whistles can stay in the bag while the friendships, fellowship and love of the game take center court.