Ken Coulson inducted into BBNZ Hall of Fame
Ken Coulson was deservedly inducted into the Basketball New Zealand (BBNZ) Hall of Fame on Saturday night in Wellington. Held in the Banquet Hall at Parliament the occasion recognised excellence and achievement in our game.
The script and citation for Ken is reproduced below.
Ken was appointed to the inaugural National Basketball League (NBL) Referees panel in 1982 and continued to be active in the League until 2004 officiating 370 games including 9 Grand Finals. He still sits 4th on the all-time list of NBL games officiated.
His many international appointments included, the 2001 Goodwill Games, three FIBA Oceania Qualifying series, a tour to the UK and France with the Tall Ferns in 1998, the Magic Johnson All Stars v NZ All Stars in 1994 and the 1989 American All Stars v USSR encounter which you can view on YouTube if you want to relive the good old days!
Along with Stan Battock, he was selected to referee at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. He is one of only 6 Kiwis have had the honour of refereeing at the Olympic Games.
For many years Ken managed and supported junior referees that travelled to the annual Country Cup in Albury-Woodonga each January.
In 2006 Ken was appointed a FIBA Examiner and in 2009 a FIBA Commissioner.
He is one of only three New Zealander’s to complete the FIBA Referee Instructor Programme.
In 2017 he was Basketball Technical Commissioner at the World Masters Games in Auckland – the largest international basketball tournament ever staged in NZ.
For three years prior to that event Ken served on the organising committee of the WMG, volunteering hundreds of hours to ensure the event was so successful in accommodating 160 teams playing 520 games over 9 days.
His citation reads:
For many reaching the pinnacle in their sport, that is the Olympics, would be an appropriate time to sign off and pursue other interests.
22 years after the Sydney Olympics Ken continues to serve the game in his own inimitable style – conscientiously, unwavering and diligent.
In 2020, he was appointed to the newly-created BBNZ National Referee Appointments and Development Committee and continues on the renamed Referee Leadership Group.
He is also currently active as a head referee trainer at national tournaments, a referee evaluator for the NZ NBL, and a referee coach for the ANBL.
Ken Coulson is deserving of entry to the BBNZ Hall of Fame.
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