Ken Coulson was appointed to the inaugural NBL Referees panel in 1982 and continued to be active in the League until 2004 officiating 370 games including nine 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. He was selected to referee at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, one of only six Kiwis to have 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 also one of only three New Zealander’s to complete the FIBA Referee Instructor Programme, and in 2017 was Basketball Technical Commissioner at the World Masters Games in Auckland – the largest international basketball tournament ever staged in NZ.
