Our next inductee to the Hall of Fame is also being honoured as a Technical Official of Basketball. Robin Milligan was predominantly involved with basketball as a referee and administrator. Robin controlled local matches in Canterbury and National Tournaments during the 1960’s and 70’s but his real emergence into the International world of refereeing came after he was awarded a FIBA Referee Badge in 1978. This resulted in regular appointments overseas, especially throughout Asia. Prior to Robin’s FIBA appointment there had been a 22 year hiatus since a New Zealand referee had been appointed to an overseas tournament.
He was also involved with the Basketball Referees of New Zealand (BRANZ), serving two terms from 1989-1992 as a rules interpreter and 1995-1998 as a technical administrator. He was also on the executive of BRANZ and was awarded a Life membership. In 1988 Robin refereed at the Women’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Malaysia and then later that same year at the Seoul Olympic Games. He was the first New Zealand referee to referee at an Olympics since 1960. Following this he accepted the role of Technical Commissioner for the Oceania senior Championships in 1989. He continued his referee duties at several international events throughout Asia into the 1990’s. In 1994 he was appointed as Team Manager for the Tall Blacks through to the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
Robin passed away in August 2016. Here to accept this award tonight is Robin’s wife Shirley Milligan. Please come forward.
