FIBA - Maddock's basketball service recognised with Member of Honour award

SYDNEY - FIBA Oceania have recognised the outstanding contribution made to the sport by John Maddock OAM by handing him the prestigious Member of Honour award.

Maddock has dedicated more than four decades of his life to basketball in the FIBA Oceania zone, both as an athlete and an administrator. And it was in his various administrative roles that he had his greatest impact.

He held the position of Basketball Australia (BA) Chair for some 11 years and on the international stage, was a Board member of FIBA Oceania for 15 years, after being appointed to the role in 1998 before eventually retiring last year.

He also served on the FIBA International Competitions Committee for more than a decade and also served as the Deputy Chairman of the Commission for a total of eight years - a position which reflected the high regard held internationally for Maddock.

He was known for bringing his experience as a player and administrator to the Competitions Commission, while at the same time, ensuring that the decisions of the Commission reflected a global vision and the ongoing growth and development of basketball.

John was also a key leader during Australian basketball's unification process which commenced in 2001 via the 'One Basketball' review - something which integrated the four national bodies (BA, NBL, WNBL and ABA) into a single unified national governing body for the sport in his homeland.

There were also a raft of other important and successful initiatives developed during Maddock's tenure with the Basketball Australia Board.

These included the introduction of Aussie Hoops, the Basketball Network (TBN), Schools Sport Australia, the inclusion of the men's and women's wheelchair basketball programmes into the Basketball Australia family, the ongoing support of competition for athletes with an intellectual disability, the ongoing development of the National Intensive Training Centre Programme (NITCP) and the Basketball Australia National Insurance Scheme.

It was therefore with much pleasure and excitement that FIBA Oceania were able to call upon FIBA Secretary General Patrick Baumann to make the special presentation to Maddock at their recent awards dinner held in Sydney.

FIBA