The Queensland Government provides $348,000 per year to Basketball Queensland under the 2017-2019 State Sport and Recreation Organisation Development Program to get more Queenslanders active through sports and recreation. Table of Contents 2 CHAIRMAN’S REPORT 4 CEO’S REPORT 6 MARKETING 8 PARTICIPATION 10 CAPACITY BUILDING 12 COACHING DEVELOPMENT 13 REFEREE DEVELOPMENT 14 QBL ENGAGEMENT 15 QBL GRAND FINAL RESULTS 16 HIGH PERFORMANCE 17 NATIONAL REPRESENTATIVES 18 CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP REPORT 19 STATE CHAMPIONSHIP REPORT 20 VINCE HICKEY AWARD I PREFER INSTEAD IN THIS REPORT TO ACKNOWLEDGE WHAT IT MEANS TO BE IIIT IS THIS SENSE OF COMMUNITY THAT WE A PART OF A TEAM – WHERE THE TEAM TOGETHER IS GREATER THAN THE SUM WILL NEED IN THE COMING MONTHS AS WE OF ITS PARTS ENDEAVOUR TO REBUILD OUR SPORT Nicola Ellis CHAIRMAN I NEVER ANTICIPATED THAT I WOULD BE At BQ we have also been fortunate to be a part of PRESENTING THIS REPORT AS CHAIRMAN OF new initiatives through 2019 including helping to BASKETBALL QUEENSLAND (BQ) AT A TIME facilitate and resource the first National Indigenous WHEN NO BASKETBALL, AT ANY LEVEL, WAS Basketball Tournament in Cairns in December 2019 BEING PLAYED ACROSS QUEENSLAND OR and empowering and promoting women in our game AUSTRALIA. through the #WomenWillWin campaign. Both initiatives were widely supported and embraced and celebrated However, that is our present reality in the COVID-19 the diversity that already existed within our sport. environment. In 2019, we also developed and launched a plan for It is therefore the absence of basketball that causes future facility development, Raising the Game, with a me to reflect very differently on the 2019 year and, in view to profiling basketball’s benefit to the community particular, what we individually draw from basketball and garnering Government support and funding for this whether as players, coaches, officials, administrators, much-needed priority. To assist us, and promote the volunteers or supporters. It also makes me further needs of our member associations, we have engaged appreciate the many modest successes that do not the services of a consultant to assist with planning, come with medals and accolades but rather are seen advocacy and communication with all levels of through the week to week growth in participation, Government. the development of life-long friendships, and the acceptance of our game in the wider community as a As to our other strategic priorities, we continue to fantastic spectator sport. grow, develop and build these targeted aspects of our sport including participation (both male and female So while Queensland continues to punch above its participation), coaching and officiating development, weight against the larger basketball bases in Victoria and technology development – the highlights of which and New South Wales and Queensland athletes are included within the CEO’s report. We also remain compete at the highest levels of world competition, focused on assisting our member associations to I prefer instead in this report to acknowledge what implement and entrench good governance practices to it means to be a part of a team – where the team ensure association “health” over the longer term. together is greater than the sum of its parts. It does not matter whether this is a local club team or QBL (now In regard to the strategic leadership of BQ, I remain NBL1), it is those memories and friendships that are fortunate to be supported by (and give thanks to) formed from facing adversity or achieving something my fellow directors who remain united in their goal together that bind a team and build a sense of of furthering the interests of BQ and its member community. It is this sense of community that we will associations. I trust these directors will continue to need in the coming months as we endeavour to rebuild engage, question and challenge in deliberations so our sport (and we are fortunate to already have this in that we remain solid, yet progressive in our decisions abundance within our associations). over the coming year. In the implementation of these strategic priorities at an operational level, 2 CHAIRMAN’S REPORT IIIT IS THIS SENSE OF COMMUNITY THAT WE WILL NEED IN THE COMING MONTHS AS WE ENDEAVOUR TO REBUILD OUR SPORT I also extend my personal thanks to CEO, Graham Burns and his team for all their efforts this last year. Finally, I am pleased to present an annual report for 2019 that demonstrates our continued strong financial performance and progressive stewardship. I also again commit the BQ Board and CEO to remaining a champion for Queensland interests and priorities at a national level with Basketball Australia. Nicola Ellis CHAIRMAN CHAIRMAN’S REPORT 3 THIS HAS LAID THE FOUNDATION FOR WHAT WAS A VERY GOOD YEAR IN TERMS OF GROWTH, ON-COURT SUCCESS AND FINANCIALLY Graham Burns CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER 2019 WAS A YEAR THAT PRESENTED SOME CHALLENGES INCLUDING EXTREME WEATHER EVENTS. Townsville bore the brunt of weather, suffering from extreme flooding and hindering their start of year operations until April. This caused a significant downturn in numbers in Townsville; however, the State still managed to record 1.3% growth when compared to 2018. This has laid the foundation for what was a very good year in terms of growth, on-court success and financially. This report details the highlights of the year in relation to the major areas of focus. I would like to acknowledge the hard work of all the staff and volunteers at basketball associations throughout Queensland without whom this sport would not survive and prosper. The Board of Basketball Queensland has also been a great support to me and have remained focused on the strategic outcomes needed for success. All Directors have contributed greatly, and it would be remiss of me not to give special thanks to our Chair, Nicola Ellis, who has worked tirelessly for Basketball Queensland throughout the year. Lastly, I would like to thank the staff of Basketball Queensland who have demonstrated both dedication and expertise to deliver excellent results in what has often been trying circumstances. Graham Burns CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER 4 CEO’S REPORT BASKETBALL QUEENSLAND STAFF HAVE DEMONSTRATED BOTH DEDICATION AND EXPERTISE TO DELIVER EXCELLENT RESULTS IN WHAT HAS OFTEN BEEN TRYING CIRCUMSTANCES CEO’S REPORT 5 2019 2018 Marketing 2017 Contributing to the growth is our marketing effort. We We have also been working very hard on lifting website have focused on digital marketing as this is more cost traffic. There was a 22% increase in traffic when effective than traditional media and has a greater compared to 2018 with 592,337 visitors throughout the impact. We have averaged almost 978 click-throughs year. The BQ App also saw a significant increase in user 2016 each month from our online campaigns. This saw with 18% growth when compared to 2018. 4,763 direct referrals during the year to associations for people wishing to play basketball. We have also had a focus on social media as we both engage and grow our audience through this medium. The number of Basketball Queensland social media fans and followers grew by 24% in 2019 when compared to 2018. The highest proportion of our social media followers are using Facebook, but Instagram is proving to be our fastest growing social media platform. 4,763 ASSOCIATION REFERRALS FROM OUR ONLINE CAMPAIGNS 6 CEO’S REPORT PARTICIPANT NUMBERS BQ APP DOWNLOADS 2019 36,533* 2018 36,100* 2017 38,313 2018 2019 2016 35,559 1,840 2,303 *DUPLICATES EXCLUDED COMMUNICATION WEBSITE VISITS 2,165 14,095 22% 1,071 6,682 2018 2019 65,488 E-NEWSLETTER 519,766 592,337 CEO’S REPORT 7 Participation We finished the year with 29,477 players registered at COMPETITIONS associations, 2% more than at the end of 2018. It is the first time in many years that we have seen growth in the There was an 2.8% increase in the number of junior number of female registered players at associations. and senior teams competing in Basketball Queensland Overall growth was however, confined to Brisbane representative competitions when compared to 2018 as and the South Coast Region with all other Regions set out in the table below: throughout Queensland remaining static or contracting, generally off the back of a severe weather event. COMPETITION 2018 2019 VARIANCE In addition, there were a further 3,379 participants QBL 30 30 0 0% registered in player recruitment programs such as SBL 29 34 5 14.7% Aussie Hoops. This number was 3% lower than at the end of 2018. When you add registered coaches (2,597) BQJBC 233 234 1 0.4% and referees (1,100) this brings the total participation in basketball across Queensland to 36,533 which is 1.3% QNJBC 49 60 11 18.3% higher than at the end of 2018. JUNIOR STATE 287 291 4 1.4% CHAMPS CHAMPION 137 138 1 0.7% GENDER BALANCE SCHOOL The gender balance continues to skew toward males (CBSQ) with approximately 76% of participants being male. TOTAL 765 787 22 2.8% There is a higher proportion of female participants in the recruitment programs (30%) reflecting the focus that is being placed on growing the number of women and girls playing basketball. \ 8 CEO’S REPORT THERE WERE A FURTHER 3,379 PARTICIPANTS REGISTERED IN PLAYER RECRUITMENT PROGRAMS SUCH AS AUSSIE HOOPS CEO’S REPORT 9 Capacity Building FACILITIES For basketball to continue to grow there is a need for In a boost to the basketball community, 19 clubs and greater access to facilities. In 2019 we have seen two associations across Queensland received a share new courts open at Morayfield and one in Cairns, a of $386,381 in funding from Rounds 100-103 of the five-court stadium is under construction at Zillmere and Queensland Gambling Community Benefit Fund (GCBF) three additional courts at South Pine Sports Centre.