TORTOLA (British Virgin Islands) - It’s been almost two years since the powerful impact of Hurricane Maria in the Caribbean and the British Virgin Islands Basketball Federation is fighting to keep the sport alive in the face of the infrastructure and financial challenges brought by the climate event.

The Federation’s President, Lester Malone, stated that the damage done to the Multi-Purpose Sports Complex have put a halt the development of basketball in the island after some significant advances in the past. In fact, this structure was one of the main refuges after the emergency and, a year later, was still home to around ten people.

“The court's roof was damaged, the floor came off, and it doesn't meet international standards anymore,” explained Malone to FIBA.basketball. “Basketball is hurt since the hurricane. We're trying to restore it by ourselves, but we've just had elections, and everything will need money.”

The Federation’s leader explained that he constantly meets with other government officials and that a recreational facility in good shape is essential for the plans of growing basketball in the islands. Although he’s aware that the priority for all continues to be the housing reconstruction and helping everything go back to normal in communities.

“I think that the government will do it, but it’s not at the top of the list of priorities. I went to the court last week and they put some wood panels to cover the spaces that were ripped off the floor, but that's not the right way to do it,” said Malone.

According to him, the national program was well underway before the destructive hurricane. They had achieved a qualification to international tournaments, both for men and women, and were in a growth phase.

“We were very fine,” said the President about their status before the hurricane. “Under my presidency, we were able to qualify to Centrobasket. Basketball was doing very well, we only needed to identify more coaches and referees. But now, after the hurricane, we're starting once again.”

However, basketball activity in the island is still limited.

“We're trying to do things in the 3x3 and local leagues. The federation is now identifying coaches and referees to educate them. We’ll have a meeting today with all players to put things in perspective and agree on a direction to take,” said Malone.

Despite this, Malone (who was appointed in 2014), is very much optimistic thanks to the interest level for basketball among the nation's youth but insisted on the challenges they face regarding human resources, which limit the current development efforts. The lack of staff has been very noticeable.

“They [the youth] are interested. We have many things going on, which is why I'm trying to bring some kind of unity. The problem is that everything is about money. I still have many people that like basketball and work with children. We're not where we're supposed to be, but I wouldn’t say that there's no interest. There is, in fact.”

Malone concluded by asserting that the BVI Olympic Committee have reiterated their commitment to financially aid the Federation as soon as they appoint an Executive Board, which is why this aspect of the organizational process is a priority at the moment.

FIBA