Bendigo referee Tayla Flint, 29, has been acknowledged for her dedication and service to basketball.
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Flint was one of many acknowledged at the Basketball Victoria Country Awards - presented with the Senior Female Referee of the Year Award.
Previously she was presented with the Helen Pawsey Award in 2018 for an outstanding achievement by a Female Referee.
"It means a lot to me because the award is named after Helen Pawsey - who taught me how to referee when I was younger," Flint said.
Flint's career started back in 2005 when she became a referee for the Bendigo Basketball Association, simply as a way to make a little bit of extra money on the side.
"I didn't have much of a background in basketball - I was more into dancing and netball when I was younger," Flint said.
"I hadn't played before I started refereeing."
Since first hanging the whistle around her neck over a decade ago, Flint has gained experience in the BigV, SEABL (now NBL1) and her biggest achievement to date, the WNBL.
Looking back on her journey there's nothing Flint enjoys more than inspiring other young people to become referees.
And the money, that doesn't matter anymore - Flint does it simply for the love it.
"Believe in yourself, learn as much as possible and don't let geography cap your ambitions," she said.
And now looking to the future, Flint is happy to have ticked the WNBL off her list and has her eyes set on making the NBL panel.
Read more about the Bendigo Braves in the NBL1:
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