Basketball Summit Helps Set New Directions

A summit meeting of basketballâs key stakeholders hosted by Basketball Australia (BA) in Sydney on Saturday has helped identify some key areas for change as part of the sportâs on-going reform process.
The Basketball Summit was the first meeting of the new BA members and was attended by the Board of Basketball Australia, the sportâs State and Territory Presidents and Chief Executive Officers, and the owners of existing National Basketball League teams.
Led by Basketball Australia Board Chairman David Thodey, the participants discussed a broad range of topics including ways to increase grass roots participation, ideas and strategies for realising the commercial opportunities for basketball and potential competition structures that showcase basketball, expand the appeal of the sport and provide development pathways for young players.
In addition, BA presented its business plan for the next four years, which included the sportâs major priorities going forward as well as setting achievable and measureable goals for basketball and its governing body.
âOur stated goal is to grow grass roots participation in the sport and aspire to the model where the elite levels of the sport create opportunities which in concert with the community allow us to invest in the development of our junior athletes,�? said Thodey, adding âthe Summit held on the weekend helped us address some of the critical issues that could have stood in the way of achieving that goal, as well as identifying some tactics to allow us to capitalise on our sportâs strengths.�?
âThere was some very fruitful discussion in particular regarding community engagement, which is an absolutely critical issue for basketball,�? Thodey added. âWe have over 230,000 registered participants and hundreds of thousands more who play casually, so itâs vital we find ways to engage them across all levels of our sport. However, we still have a number of issues to work through to make sure that the NBL achieves its full potential and we operate as one sport. The NBL is a critical part of our sport.
âBasketball really is the ultimate family game, as reflected in our new branding of âBasketball â Everyoneâs Gameâ, and that essential truth is a vital part of how we will position ourselves going forward.�?
Thodey said the Summit fostered a new spirit of unity.
âQuite clearly, everyone at the Summit was united by their mutual wish to see the sport of basketball flourish. That common ground should help guide us through the months ahead as we set about revitalising our sport. There have been a lot of important days for our sport in recent months, but the Summit was absolutely imperative to the long-term welfare of basketball.�?