Howard Peters - Guyana’s only FIBA referee
By Joe Chapman in New York)
Guyana Chronicle
December 10, 2003
BROOKLYN, New York City - It goes back a quarter of a century to November 26, 1978, when the first Guyanese basketball officials John Yates and Cecil Chin were accorded the status of International Basketball Federation (FIBA) referees with their ‘carnets’ (licences).
Now almost one year after missing re-certification clinics in Puerto Rico held on November 8-10 and the other from November 14-16 in Nassau, the Bahamas, Howard Peters is Guyana's only FIBA accepted referee.
Significantly, Peters is one of just 17 from the known English-speaking Caricom region, with a FIBA licence.
Now residing in the United States, Peters vividly remembers last year when he was unable to attend the two re-certification clinics, following Guyana's non-participation at the Caribbean Championships a few months earlier in St Thomas, US Virgin Islands. Then, like now, it seemed that Guyana had taken a back seat at all basketball activities after once being in the forefront in the administration of the sport in the English-speaking Caribbean.
Guyana, one recalls, attempted the first-ever Caribbean Championships in 1976 and five years later successfully staged the inaugural Caricom Championship in 1981.
Peters was furious about the prospects of his FIBA validation being revoked and his doubtful participation as an international referee representing Guyana.
But today he is proud that he will be eligible to continue to serve Guyana, at the least, at the Caribbean Zone level.
Last year, however, Peters recalls voicing his concern to president of the Guyana Amateur Basketball Federation (GABF) Colonel Godwin McPherson (Ret.) about not attending the re-certification clinics and McPherson promised him that the matter would have been sorted out by the GABF.
One year after, Peters is less concerned, and now satisfied, as he continues to be one of the best referees in the region.
Last year when Guyana made a tour of Antigua for a goodwill series after failing to reach the US Virgin Islands-hosted Caribbean Championships for reasons not yet known, Peters officiated in the final of the Leeward Islands Championship.
He has been a FIBA referee since 1997 and was re-certified in 1999 in Trinidad and Tobago. The following year, while not compelled to do the test for the two-year licence runs, a fitness fanatic, he successfully passed the test at the Barbados-staged Caricom Championships.
But he was worried about being struck off FIBA’s international referees list and a bit disappointed with not being given the chance to attend the clinics conducted by FIBA officials Alberto Garcia and Fred Hogan in Puerto Rico and Glyne Clarke and Hogan in the Bahamas.
In what is now the restructured Caribbean Zone area of operation, FIBA has recognised 50 referees and they are from Aruba, Belize, Guyana, Jamaica, St Kitts and St Vincent and the Grenadines with one each, the Bahamas and Barbados four each, St Lucia five, Cuba seven, Puerto Rico ten and Dominican Republic 14.