Turks and Caicos design a long-term plan to get to the next level

COCKBURN TOWN — Among the countries and federations that belong to the Caribbean Basketball Confederation (CBC), the Turks and Caicos representation is the youngest, becoming a FIBA affiliate as recently as in 2002. For this reason, the Turks and Caicos Islands Basketball Federation (TCIBF) has set out a plan to develop their younger talent and foster impactful players at an international level for the next four years.

“Basketball is one of the most popular sports practiced in Turks and Caicos. You might say that it's the most popular sport among the youth,” said TCIBF president, Sidwell Glasgow, to FIBA.basketball.

With this in mind, the strategic plan for the Turks and Caicos Islands is focused on several critical areas so that they can elevate their basketball level toward the next international competitions cycle, which begins in 2023. These areas are:
- Coaches’ education
- Facilities
- Marketing and Promotion
- Finances
- Constitutional Aspects
- Media and Information Technology

According to the Federation’s president, even though the sport is widely accepted by the young residents of the islands with a population of 35,000 inhabitants, they face the same challenges and restrictive issues that many other small territories tackle. For example, the lack of public and private funding, short-staffing and inadequate facilities.

Besides the national school tournaments than began in December with the participation of 10 schools, the TCIBF will also organize a 3x3 tournament in May, which Glasgow described as “a great opportunity to generate interest among players,” with the aim of taking “a shorter road to participate in international competitions.”

Likewise, the Federation is currently in talks with the government to celebrate a national coaching clinic, so that they can receive their FIBA license. The TCIBF also received a spot to certify a FIBA referee, something they will be undertaking in the next months.

The TCIBF is currently preparing their U-17 team to participate in next July’s CBC championship.

According to official FIBA records, the senior national team of the Turks and Caicos Islands have only participated in one official zone competition, when in 2004 they played in the CBC championship in Santiago de Cuba, ending in the seventh place.

FIBA