QUEENSLAND - As FIBA Oceania celebrates its 50th anniversary on Saturday, October 20, in Sydney, Australia, Burton Shipley, the Regional Office's President, shared his current outlook of basketball in that part of the world.

“FIBA Oceania is a unique grouping of 22 national member federations. The biggest zone by area with the smallest population. Some of the most obese nations in the world yet some of the most undernourished children under five. We are a complex zone, but every Federation can grow basketball," he said. "There are challenges, but I see the 50-year celebration as a celebration of the vision the early leaders had and the organization their work has led to for basketball."

Ahead of the 50th-anniversary dinner, Shipley spoke to FIBA Oceania. Before talking about this weekend's commemoration, he paid tribute to FIBA Secretary General Patrick Baumann, who passed away last Saturday. 

"In the last week, the basketball family around the world has been shocked by the unexpected passing of FIBA Secretary General, Patrick Baumann. The contributions Patrick made to basketball will be felt for many years to come. 3x3, the development of the ONE FIBA business plan, the new World Cup competition structure and the review of the governance structure of FIBA are some of the major achievements he will be remembered for," Shipley said.

What will you remember most about Patrick Baumann? 
What I will remember him for are his huge intellect, his ability to see through arguments and see the outcome, and his unique ability to present really hard issues to people in an accommodating way that left them in no doubt where he stood but that he caused them no offense. Patrick was a person I was extremely proud to call a friend, to work with and to have the privilege of learning from.

Basketball has lost a great leader who achieved much during his short time with us. We as people involved in this great sport must not let his legacy fall and must focus on what we can do to advance basketball to where it belongs.

Can you share with us how you started with FIBA?
My introduction to FIBA began in about 2002 when on the Board of Basketball New Zealand (BBNZ), with visits from some FIBA staff as we sought ways to grow Basketball in New Zealand. They all brought an international perspective that the Board valued greatly. I then watched as Barbara Wheadon worked on FIBA Oceania's Board and the FIBA Central Board before she became Oceania President in 2006. When she advised she was standing down in 2012, I was asked by BBNZ if I would be interested in becoming the New Zealand appointment to the Board. I was elected as President of Oceania in 2013 and onto the FIBA Central Board and the Executive in Madrid in 2014.

I was on the Board for two years before being elected President. During that time, I tried to grow my knowledge of how the organization worked and where the opportunities were. Oceania was in a very strong position financially but needed to adopt better business practices. I thought we had a great base but needed to focus more on where we could make the most difference.

Since being elected President I have been heavily involved in the move to having FIBA as one organization, a change from the five zones being individual businesses. This was a huge change and will only be completed this year. This change has been a challenge for our staff, but they now work much more closely with the Head Office staff in Mies. This has been very positive for Oceania.

I have also been appointed to Chair the Coordination Commission for the World Cup in China 2019. This has been a huge challenge, but the outcome will be incredibly positive for basketball.

I have also been lucky to be on the Central Board and Executive when 3x3 comes into the Olympics in Tokyo. 3x3 has huge potential for the Oceania Zone with our flair and the smaller numbers to move to tournaments.

What are the challenges the Oceania region need to overcome?
Having read the comments of Bob Elphinston, I was somewhat disappointed as they remain the same, communication and funding. The costs of holding Board meetings is huge due to flight schedules and the communication systems in the Pacific are not good enough to run conference calls. Having said that the input of the Board has been excellent and we as a group have moved a long way from where we started four years ago.

How much has changed since you began in your post?
I have always been very focused on not having the Board involved in Management. At our first meeting in Brisbane in 2014, the Board agreed to have 3 goals for our term.

• Double the number of players in the Island Federations
• Grow the number of basketball heroes in Oceania and the publicity basketball gets
• Improve the administrative capability of all our Federations.

The staff has been very focused on these objectives and we have done well in some Federations. As always there is still work to do.

The other big change we made was to move the Head office of Oceania to Gold Coast where we purchased an office instead of renting. We were able to buy through the excellent state that our predecessors had left Oceania in. Every time I enter the office I am grateful to those who went before us.

But the biggest change that I have been lucky to experience is the change to the international competition that sees our Federations all having a chance to play in the World Cup. This is by far the biggest achievement in basketball over the last 20 years and will help raise basketball in the minds of the public.

What are you most proud of during your years with FIBA?
The change that holding the World Cup 2019 in China has made to basketball. Our levels of sponsorship and the professionalism of the staff have provided FIBA with a strong base to go forward.

Some of the Basketball for Good projects we have run in Oceania. I think particularly of the Timor Leste project using our Mums are Heroes model to promote their confidence to report family violence, the great projects in Papua New Guinea with Midnight Basketball and the involvement of the local and Australian Police, the projects in Fiji which have seen the number of registered players rise from 800 to 16,000. We have also run highly successful projects to grow the skills of young women leaders in the sport in Oceania. All these achievements have been made by great people working together. Last year FIBA Oceania completed 94 projects in the Pacific. Great for an office of 5 people!

We are also working hard to develop the Administrative skills required to run a modern basketball Federation. This focus is forced on us from two perspectives

We are a small sport with a big Zone. We must make the best possible use of every dollar. Many of our projects are funded by government aid, mostly from Australia and we have to supply reports and account for spending. This will only become more important as countries realize that Basketball for Good is a great way to deliver their aid budget.

Finally, the people involved in this great sport. Most are focused on what is good for basketball and the results speak for themselves. Sport can and does make a huge positive difference in our society.

What are your fondest memories so far of your time with FIBA?
The great people I have had the privilege to meet and work within FIBA and carrying the mantle that some outstanding people created in the past. The vision and drive of people like Al Ramsay and Bob Elphinston, Barbara Wheadon and Cedric Cudby. They all have had a lifelong involvement with basketball and have made huge contributions to it.

On the international front, our secretary general's who have driven basketball forward with unbelievable skill and determination.

The players, the administrators, the coaches, the referees, the table officials, all are important and they all add not only to sport but to the skills of each Federation and it has been a privilege to meet so many of them in Oceania and around the world. 

Burton Shipley with Patrick Baumann and Bob Elphinston

What can you say about the current state of FIBA Oceania?
FIBA Oceania is fortunate to stand on the strong foundations established 50 years ago by Al Ramsay and his team. They have not only left a legacy but have also left an expectation that whoever is leading Oceania will work hard to advance our position in the World. The means of delivery have changed but the challenges remain very similar to what they were 50 years ago. The travel is easier, but the delivery expectations are higher and require more monitoring.

Where do you want FIBA Oceania to be in the next 50 years?
I hope that FIBA Oceania will continue to build on the strong foundations Al Ramsay and his team first established 50 years ago. I want FIBA Oceania to grow in delivering Basketball for Good projects to our Federations to build them, so we get to have more than Australia and New Zealand in the World Cup playoffs. I can see Guam, Fiji and Papua New Guinea all have the potential to get to that level.

Mostly I would like to leave a legacy of much stronger administration in Oceania. The administration is holding so many of our Federations back. I hope the Federations will take and then build on the opportunities FIBA Oceania are creating for them. 

FIBA