By Ewen McRae
Melton Basketball Association has been tickled pink this month, as the referees stepped up to raise funds and awareness for breast cancer research.
The referees have been wearing pink uniforms for the month as part of a new campaign to shine a light on the all to common cancer, and the response has been overwhelming.
Association referees advisor Emily Todorov said she introduced the colour change for the month to help spread awareness in the community.
“I was watching the Olivia Newton-John documentary recently, and I just thought we could be doing more to help,” she said.
“It’s [breast cancer] far too common, everyone knows someone who’s been affected by it, so I thought about how we could do something and thought what better way then to get all my refs into pink and raise some funds.
“The response has been fantastic. All the refs got on board and have donated part of their pay towards the fund, and all the parents and kids have been right behind it by chipping in as well, which is great.”
A total of 55 referees in the association have taken part in the campaign this year, while local businesses S.G.A. Engineering and Sportz Buzz donated towards getting the special uniforms made.
Ms Todorov said she hoped this became an annual event.
“I ref in NBL1, which is a state league competition, and we do something like this each year which is really well received, so I’d love that to happen here,” she said.
“I know that the amount that we would raise isn’t a huge amount, but every bit helps.
“We’ve got donation tins that are full already, so we’ll keep fundraising until the end of the month and then hopefully try and top it next year.”
