MELBOURNE (FIBA Oceania) - The logo was created to celebrate the 40th year of the organisation, and will be used throughout the zone in 2008.

Copies of the logo will be sent to all federations in the next week with a request to use the logo as they wish during the year.

Oceania was the last zone in the world to organise itself into an operating unit, and was welcomed into the FIBA family in Mexico City in 1968.

Since that day the organisation has represented the interests of its 21 members at the FIBA level, and has provided a pathway for elite teams from the zone to participate at the highest level of international competition.

Prior to the establishment of the OBC, teams from our zone had no true path to international competition. Qualification to the Olympic Games and the World Championships was varied and included competition against Asian teams and sometimes, pre-Olympic tournaments. Australia and New Zealand have been the major recipients of this elite competition pathway created by FIBA's acceptance of Oceania has a world zone.

To ensure the development of the whole zone, OBC initiated a plan to improve playing, coaching, refereeing and administration skills in the Pacific Islands. Visiting experts, mostly from Australia, started conducting clinics throughout the Pacific in the late 60's, often in conjunction with the South Pacific Games.

In 1994 Steve Smith was employed as Al Ramsay's assistant, and was the first paid staff member of OBC. In 1997 Steve took over the role of Secretary General and implemented a program that included the employment of permanent staff members in both development and administration roles.

Over the past 11 years the name OBC has been replaced with FIBA Oceania to reflect the globalisation of the basketball family; the FIBA Oceania Youth Tournament has been introduced and played every 2 years; FIBA Oceania has employed National Development Officers in 7 Pacific Island countries; we have partnered with the Australian Government to provide Australian Youth Ambassadors over a number of years; Australia's women have won the World Championships and basketball is the first or second most popular sport in almost every one of our 21 federations.

The focus of work in 2008 will be in the administration of basketball, for without the people to organise competitions, there would be no games. We hope to make basketball the most played sport in the Pacific by 2010 - so the work continues.

FIBA Oceania