Page 67 - BWA Annual Report 2023

SOUTH WEST
Alex Ciabattoni - Regional Development Officer
A YEAR OF SUCCESSFUL BASKETBALL IN THE SOUTH WEST
BELT UP COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS
We had a very successful Country Championships with 174 teams from the South West representing their local clubs. Of these teams, 25 South West teams won the grand final in their respective divisions. This demonstrates the strength of our local athletes and the hard work of our incredible coaches.
FUEL TO GO & PLAY STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS
In 2023 we had 72 teams from all over the South West region competing in the State Championships. It is great to see how competitive our regional athletes are against the best athletes from across the State. We are especially proud of the 8 teams who won the grand finals in their respective age groups. The success of our regional teams in the South West is exciting and shows the amazing development happening throughout the region.
HOT SHOTS
After a hiatus, we were fortunate to be able to bring back the Under 12 Hot Shots to the South West. Trialing a new format, focusing on bringing the coaches to the athletes, appeared to be a great success. We had 155 under 12 athletes participating across the South West, with trainings held in Busselton, Bunbury and Bridgetown.
This is the first time we have run the program throughout the region and we are grateful for all the support shown by the athletes, coaches and Associations, with Hot Shots being the first opportunity for young athletes to be exposed to the BWA High Performance Pathway.
20 athletes were then selected to represent the region in Perth at the Hot Shots Jamboree, along with over 80 athletes from all over the State. We hope to continue this program in the South West and hopefully add more locations and sessions to reach a greater number of young athletes.
COACHING COURSES
To continue developing all athletes across the South West we placed a large emphasis throughout 2023 on coach development. Throughout the region we have run 12 coaching courses which have had an average attendance of 20 coaches at each session. The goal of these sessions is to introduce coaches to the fundamental skills that athletes need to transition from being domestic players to regional representatives and then hopefully into BWA High Performance programs. We have also been working hard to develop our next generation of coaches, working
closely with SEDA, by providing coach education sessions for 45 students and assisting with work experience placement. These initiatives are ensuring our next generation of athletes will have access to great coaching no matter where they live in the South West.
FORD AUSSIE HOOPS
Aussie Hoops in the South West has taken off in 2023. Two new venues have been added in Margaret River, a new Centre has been established in Collie thanks to a partnership with the Shire and plans are in place to also add Aussie Hoops programs in Harvey and Busselton. We now have 598 athletes participating in Aussie Hoops throughout the South West, the largest of any region in WA. PCYC Bunbury continues to be the largest Aussie Hoops Centre in country WA, with Manjimup offering the 2nd largest country program. This is exciting as it shows how many young boys and girls are interested in basketball from all around the region and will hopefully feed directly into local Associations and programs.
HIGH PERFORMANCE
BWA’s High Performance pathways in the South West have had a lot of success over the past 12 months. We were fortunate enough to have 10 athletes that represented our region at the U16/U18 National Championships, as well as 2 Head Coaches and 2 Assistant Coaches. We also had 2 athletes make the SCC travelling team, where the girls won the under 15’s competition. These experiences are incredible for our region and we are excited for both the players and coaches to return and share their new knowledge with the region.
WHEELCHAIR AND
ALL ABILITIES BASKETBALL
After 2 successful seasons of winter wheelchair basketball at Leschenault Leisure Centre the first summer competition, including 4 teams, was completed. The plan for 2024 is to now connect South West players to pathway opportunities, including our referees.
We also conducted our first All Abilities basketball program, which was run over 8 weeks at Bunbury Senior High School for Geographe Education Support Centre. We were fortunate to have 20 students participate and they all thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
“174 teams from the South West representing their local clubs. Of these teams, 25 South West teams won the
grand final” BWA ANNUAL REPORT 2023 | 62