Full Court Press... Issue 31, September, 2015 will grow both on and off the Its still all systems go here at Happenings in September (check court over the 2 year diplo- BNSW H.Q, with junior finals across all our leagues now run out www.bnsw.com.au ma. Well done to Peter and and won and we turn our at- for more details) Robbie McKinlay for such a tention to the State Champion- successful launch! ship, State Shield and State 5th - 6th September Cup. Good luck and safe trav- Junior State Cup Finals weekend is over for From the Desk of Danny our els to all those taking part. U12/U14 - Newcastle another year. Anyone who Make sure you get out there U16/U18 - Gosford CEO… Hello Everyone, was out at Sutherland over and watch the basketball stars the weekend would agree it What a month its been! of the future compete for the 12th - 13th September was one of the most exciting state titles. Junior State Shield BNSW officially started one and intense finals weekend U12/U14 - Newcastle of its most exciting initia- ever! Congratulations to all Make sure you jump onto our tives in August, the Aus- those player & officials who U16/U18 - Maitland website and social media to 28th - September tralian College of Sport took part. keep update to date with all 14 Girls Nationals - Gosford BNSW Campus. It was ex- Well done to the Bankstown that's happening in the world Bruins Women and Sydney 14 Boys Nationals - Perth , WA citing for me to be there of basketball. Comets Men who took out when Peter Lonergan wel- the Championship division Does your Association comed the first students this year. Special thank you Until next time, keep safe! have an event coming up into the inaugural intake of to Julie and her team at Suth- Danny Martinez the BNSW Campus. We erland who hosted the during the offseason? Let weekend and did an out- are all very excited to see us know and we can have standing job! how much these athletes it placed right here on our monthly calendar 2015 Molten Waratah League Finals Weekend Inside this issue: CEO Wrap 1 BNSW Chairman 2 Column Senior League 3 Finals Weekend Results BNSW Gears Up 4 Inaugural Intake BNSW State 5 Championship, Cup & Shield Basketball Find– 6 a-word 6 BNSW Contact Page 1 BNSW CHAIRMAN’S COLUMN CONGRATULATIONS! Opals medalist with a wonderful history of achievement in basket- ball as a player , coach and now an administrator , Annie Le FLEUR was inducted into the NSW Hall of Champions on 24 August , 2015. Annie , now doing a great job as the FIBA Oceania Development Manager has a distinguished playing and coaching record and richly deserves being honoured in the NSW Hall of Champions located at the Sydney Olympic Park SPORTS CENTRE. Annie joins NSW Basket- ball Honourees , Maree Jackson , Karen Dalton , Damian Keogh and Troy Sachs ; Jan STIRLING will be inducted into the FIBA Hall of Fame at World Basketball HQ in Switzerland in September on the occasion of the EuroBasket Championships together with Michael Jordan and other distinguished world bas- ketball icons ; Jan was an Opals great as a player and coached the Opals to the World Championship Gold Medal in 2006 ; Jan joins Andrew Gaze , Lindsay Gaze and Al Ramsay in the FIBA Hall of Fame. Sutherland Association as the Host of the Waratah Championship Finals which included teams from 16 state- wide Associations in the semi finals playing in front of packed audiences on the first weekend of August ; Bankstown and Hills Associations as the hosts of the Metro Finals on 23 August with a record 12 metropolitan Associations participating in highly exciting and well organized finals with the State Finals in all Junior grades tak- ing place on 29-30 August at Blaxland , Minto and Hawkesbury ; State Cup in Gosford and Minto 5-6 September and State Shield in Maitland and Newcastle 12-13 September will conclude the 2015 Championship BNSW Events Staff and BNSW Referees did a great job across an exceptionally busy period of competition dur- ing August with more to follow in September ; Basketball Australia staged a magnificent evening of international basketball at the Rod Laver Arena , Mel- bourne in front of 15,500 wildly cheering fans on the occasion of the FIBA Oceania Championships with the Boomers and Opals clinching Olympic entry in Rio 2016 against New Zealand ; Our own BNSW Referee Nicolas Fernandes(BNSW Referee and Scoretable Development Officer ) was appointed to these games and did a great job – Well done Nico ; Australian U16 Boys and girls teams also qualified for the 2016 FIBA World Championships with wins over New Zealand and therefore entry to the World Champs to be held co-jointly in Spain ; Our NSW National League teams , Illawarra Hawks and the Sydney Kings playing in the NBL and the Sydney Flames playing in the WNBL have all recruited very well in the off season and we wish them well as both Leagues tip off in early October Keep up the challenging but exciting efforts to make your Association the best it can be. Thanks for your support Bob Elphinston OAM Chair BNSW 2015 Molten Waratah League Finals Results: Division 1 Youth League Women Newcastle Hunters 72 Def Hills Hornets 52 Division 2 Youth League Men Moss Vale Magic 104 Def Ryde Bulls 84 Division 1 Youth League Men Sydney Comets 87 Def Bankstown Bruins 68 Division 1 Women Queanbeyan Yowies 61 Def Newcastle Hunters 53 Division 1 Men Sutherland Sharks 91 Def Wagga Heat 63 Championship Women Bankstown Bruins 75 Def Sutherland Sharks 64 Championship Men Sydney Comets 69 Def Manly Warringah Eagles 69 Page 3 BNSW Gears Up Inaugural Intake Peter Lonergan BNSW Campus - Director of Coaching In a unique partnership for basketball in the State, Basketball New South Wales (BNSW) has part- nered with the Australian College of Sport to deliver the very best in high performance training and education through their nationally accredited Diploma of Sport Development. Operating out of state of the art facilities at Netball Central in Sydney Olympic Park precinct, ACS and BNSW will de- liver the two year full time program for basketball athletes, providing them with the skills and ex- perience to pursue their dreams of a career in sport, in coordination with sport science, personal development and practical business theory. The first semester commences August 24 with all basketball, strength and conditioning and aca- demic sessions to be conducted under the one roof at the newly built facility, during what is a very exciting time for the sport in Australia. With ACS (Victoria Campus) recently hosting the Boomers and Opals for their respective team preparations for the Oceania Championships, ACS has built an outstanding reputation for quality training and development of talented basketball athletes. In announcing the inaugural intake of student-athletes into their BNSW Campus, Basketball NSW High Performance Manager Robbie Cadee said it was an exciting time for the State and all BNSW Members: "The partnership between Basketball NSW and the Australian College of Sport is a ter- rific opportunity for the sport and we are pleased to have our first group of young players about to embark on this exciting new pathway," Cadee said. "With the experience and leadership from ACS and leadership from BNSW, coupled with the high calibre of our coaching staff and the quality of facilities, we are truly energised about the opportu- nities this partnership will present for young athletes in NSW." he added. The BNSW Campus of the Australian College of Sport commences with its inaugural intake of stu- dent athletes with 11 young people enrolled in their first semester, commencing with an Induction and Orientation Day. Interested players can find out more about the BNSW Campus by visiting the Australian College of Sport web-site - www.collegeofsport.edu.au or ringing us on 1300 859 880. Page 4 BNSW State Championship, Cup & Shield Byron Geddes Over the next three weekends Basketball NSW will be holding the an- nual Molten Waratah Junior League State Championships, State Cup and State Shield. The Molten Waratah League is New South Wales premier elite basket- ball league administrated by the state governing body, Basketball New South Wales (BNSW). The Junior State Championships see teams com- pete across 4 age groups: Under 12’s, 14’s, 16’s and 18’s boys and girls The Molten Waratah League State Championships sees the best teams from the Waratah Country Premier League battle it out against the top teams from the Waratah Metro League. This weekend is the pinnacle for the 64 teams who have battled all year to qualify for the weekend with the ultimate goal of being crowned champions of New South Wales. The league is a true state based competition, with teams from as far north as Lismore, as far south as Albury, as far West as Dubbo and every part of the Sydney Metropolitan region just to name a few. The 2015 Molten Waratah League State Cup & Shield will be held in Newcastle and Maitland. BNSW State Cup is for all our division two teams while the Shield is for our Division three teams from our Molten Wa- ratah Junior Leagues . Teams are invited to attended the Cup & Shield after a successful season in their respected leagues . Do not miss the chance to come watch some of the State’s best junior basketballers battle it out. There is a strong chance that the next Patty Mills, Andrew Bogart or Lauren Jackson will be playing in the com- ing weekend's Action starts early each Saturday Morning culminating with the State Championship, Cup and Shield Grand Finals being played on the Sunday Afternoon.