The Relevance of General Spatial Anticipation Skills for Basketball Referees

Abstract

In recent years, research has shown a positive correlation between sport-specific cognitive abilities and the performance of referees in different sports. However, it is still uncertain how much of the expertise exhibited by referees results from acquired sport-specific skills versus pre-existing general abilities. This study aimed to determine if the relationship between sport-specific abilities and expertise previously observed also applies to general visual abilities. In cooperation with the German basketball federation, basketball referees were recruited for the study, resulting in the final sample of 86 participants who were grouped as elite basketball referees, amateur referees, or novices. These participants completed five tests within the Vienna Test System: time and spatial anticipation, perceptual speed, visual orientation, and spatial working memory. Five separate ANOVAs reported a significant effect of the factor expertise on the performance in spatial anticipation. Post hoc tests revealed that elite referees performed significantly better than amateur referees and novices in spatial anticipation. The superior performance of elite referees in spatial anticipation tasks suggests that their expertise may not be solely limited to acquired skills in basketball but may also be partly attributed to better general spatial anticipatory abilities that might reflect a required skill for refereeing.