GOLD COAST (Australia) - FIBA Oceania held their Mid-Term Congress for the 2019-2023 cycle virtually today, and brought together 18 National Federations with over 30 participants present to review the last two years of activities and achievements of the region.

The congress was attended by FIBA Secretary-General Andreas Zagklis, FIBA Senior Director Markus Studer, FIBA Honorary President Robert Elphinston, FIBA Oceania President Burton Shipley, FIBA Executive Director David Crocker, FIBA Oceania Vice President David Reid, FIBA Central Board Member Karo Lelai, and FIBA Oceania Board Members Greg Williamson, Hans Tuahivaatetonohiti, Frank Cruz, Jubilee Kuartei and Thierry Durand.

Zagklis commended the efforts of the region while facing the challenges of the pandemic head-on.

"I would like to acknowledge the Oceania Zone for their effort, resiliency, and determination during these trying times. I want to highlight that when the pandemic hit the world, the Oceania region was the first one to use webinars in terms of trying to share knowledge. We were all inspired by that movement and there came a point that we were delivering five webinars in a day," he shared.

"The FIBA family wants you to know that we will continue being on your side, we are aware of the impact of our programs in the region especially the Basketball For Good programs. It's something that we should all be proud of," he added.

The Mid-Term Congress discussed the activities, achievements, and results in the first two years of this cycle with the President's and Executive Directors report including presentations from Northern Marianas Island's Basketball Federation President, James Lee, and Basketball Fiji's President Ioane Naiavalurua on the successful executions of their respective programs.

Some of the highlights in the last two years:

Empower National Federations
- Over the last 18 months, we have delivered over 40 webinars. 2020 focus was on delivering to the masses – with webinars open to anyone. 2021 has seen a more targeted approach, with specific coaching, refereeing, marketing and strategy sessions with National Federations when appropriate.

Women in Basketball
- 34% Women Representation on NF Boards – with 4 female presidents in federations and a number of new up-and-coming administrators and leaders being developed in the region – we are excited to see this number continue to grow.
- 2019-2021 average of 43% female participants in programs in funded National Federations

Enlarge the FIBA Family
- 25 Paid staff in national federations – full time, part-time and casual coaches
- 445 Coaches/312 referees reported working in the national federations – with 285 coaches and 298 referees trained in the period through webinars or in-country coach education

Continue to build 3x3
Since 2019 we have had over 620 events take place in the region – given the lockdowns and restrictions on mass gatherings, this is a great result and congratulations to the 18 countries who have been able to run at minimum 3 events each year.

The FIBA Oceania Board named New Caledonia's Bridget Delaveuve as the recipient of the Patricia Ramsay award, named after Patricia Ramsay, the wife of FIBA Oceania Founder Al Ramsay. In her honor, FIBA Oceania established the award to recognize and honor exceptional personalities in the administrative field.

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About FIBA
FIBA (fiba.basketball) - the world governing body for basketball, is an independent association formed by 212 National Basketball Federations throughout the world. It is recognized as the sole competent authority in basketball by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

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