BarcelonaYasmina Alcaraz is one of the two women refereeing in the Endesa League, the main men’s basketball competition in the State. The Catalan has announced that she is five months pregnant and that, therefore, she will have to stop her activity for a while. “We made an important decision at home and we’ve known for a few months that I’m pregnant. This will cause me to slow down and stop completely. It is not supported. I’ve tried to stretch it out for a few months as I juggle pregnancy with arbitration. It is not a disease, it is a physiological part of our life. Athletes have an advantage because we are a little more trained and the body gives us more room, but in the end you have to stop. It’s not just about the matches but the trips, where you’re more tired”, he says.
Alcaraz is used to breaking prejudices. “I am a woman in a man’s world, but I feel very integrated. The response from my professional environment has been unbeatable. For me, everything was new, but for the ACB and for my colleagues, too. We have all been doing it on the go and this has given the process normality and naturalness. There is inexperience on the part of all parties, and I am the first. Without taking false steps, we have been progressing gradually. We talked about everything very naturally and honestly”, he admits with satisfaction.
Alcaraz knows he will miss basketball. “It will be difficult for me to disconnect. It was already hard for me to make the decision to get pregnant because I didn’t want to stop and I was in a good time. The second step was to stop refereeing. What I am clear about is that I will try to be as connected as possible. Although it is positive news, there is trauma. You have to take it that way. My intention is to return as soon as possible, but I will decide that later”, he says.
“Keep fulfilling my dreams”
Yasmina does not set deadlines for returning to the slopes. “I want to keep refereeing and I want to keep traveling anywhere in the world to do my job. For this I need a lot of support at home. Not only from my partner, with whom I have discussed everything very well and he already knows that he will have to make a greater effort than mine because he will have to give up many things, but also from family and friends, who are willing to donate your time to help us. The goal is that I can continue to fulfill my dreams. It’s my job, but there’s also a very vocational part”, admits Alcaraz, one of the two women refereeing in the Endesa League. “I have had great support from Esperanza Mendoza. I have many colleagues who have been or want to be parents, but it is never the same. She is a pioneer ahead of me internationally and whenever I need help with anything, I have her. It has helped me a lot to make decisions through his eyes, which are very similar to mine”, he argues.
