(GOLD COAST) Australia - On top of unwavering player development, Basketball New Zealand is not leaving coaches and managers behind with the launch of the High-Performance Wāhine Coaches Workshop in a mission to continue enriching women’s basketball.

Basketball New Zealand partnered with the Sky Sport Tall Ferns Selection Camp in the successful staging of the workshop at the Pulman Arena earlier this month that aims to create and cater opportunities and representation to the women personalities in coaching and leadership positions.

“We wanted to provide a flexible and safe environment to support their growth. Being in a room together and sharing ideas, discussing ways to improve as an individual and as a group, is inspiring,” said High-Performance Programmes Manager Melinda Hodgson.

The workshop had Olympian Beatrice Faumuina, Sonia Boland from High-Performance Sport New Zealand, and leader of the Women in High-Performance Sport Project as well as Olympian coaches Jody Cameron and Leanne Walker as speakers.

Hodgson added that it’s a way for the coaches and managers to advance their personal development amid a busy schedule in honing their players, teams, clubs, and associations on a full-time basis.

“Any time we can come together is an opportunity to connect and collaborate to benefit the overall game. This is a passionate group of wāhine toa who are keen to increase, empower and support the growth of high-performance wāhine coaches,” she beamed.

“BBNZ is grateful to be able to leverage this passion, knowledge, and experience within the group, as we work together to provide initiatives to inspire the next generation of wāhine coaches, leaders, and players,” added Hodgson.”

Twelve standout coaches and managers participated in the workshop including Nelson Basketball GM and representative coach Frances Tilly in the three-day event that is in line with Sport New Zealand’s women and girls strategy.

For Tilly, it’s a privilege to share the same room with some of the great minds in NZ women’s basketball, signaling an upcoming collective work to further champion female coaches and officials.

“I’m excited to see how we can grow and set up a pathway for more female coaches, hopefully without the barriers we have dealt with. The strategy put in place from the workshop is exciting and is tapping into the strengths and knowledge within the group,” she cited.

FIBA