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BASKETBALL WA EXPANDS PRESENCE INTO THE GOLDFIELDS

With the game’s continued growth in mind, Basketball WA is proud to announce the appointment of Brandon Holloway to the role of Regional Development Officer – Goldfields, from January 5^th, 2021. We have been able to do this with continued support from our key partners the Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural industries and Healthway, in conjunction with the Kalgoorlie Boulder Basketball Association. Brandon will be based in Kalgoorlie and service the area East through Coolgardie to Southern Cross and north through Menzies, Leonora, Sandstone, Laverton and Warburton where there is a great interest in basketball.

Brandon first arrived in Kalgoorlie in 2015 as a rising basketball star from Queensland and has gone on to play point guard for the Goldfield Giants in 100 games. Now settled in Kalgoorlie, Brandon was appointed the vice-captain of the Giants in 2019. Brandon also has experience playing in the US and Europe and is well known for his selfless team first attitude.

Brandon is excited about his new challenge. “Since moving to play for the Giants I have developed really strong friendships within the basketball community and I’m looking forward to building on the great basketball culture that exists here in Kalgoorlie and taking that out to nearby towns”, Brandon said. “There is so much talent here in the Goldfields.”

In line with our 2020 Strategic Plan’s objectives, Basketball WA made the decision, with the support of our members, to more heavily invest in country basketball. As a result, BWA has been able to expand our support for regional WA significantly.

We now have Regional Development Officers servicing the Kimberley, Pilbara, Mid-West & Gascoyne, Goldfields, South West and Great Southern regions. This expansion into the Goldfields means we now have a regional development network covering up to 94% of WA’s land mass and about 78% of the regional population. This regional development network’s underpinning philosophy is to provide local services for local communities based on their local needs.

Deputy CEO, Evan Stewart, said that ‘BWA has been working closely with the KBBA and regional stakeholders throughout 2020 to understand how we can best grow the game in the region. We supported the KBBA to develop a redevelopment plan for their stadium, which is old, tired and unusable after 25 years of love and sweat. We are pleased that both the Labor Party and National Party have committed to providing funding for this if they win the 2021 State election. It is significant that we support this by working with local stakeholders to grow the game and we are pleased to be able to grow our regional network of Development Officers to support the work being undertaken by locals.”

In addition, BWA has increased our commitment in the Pilbara by employing a second part-time officer to support the great work that Samantha Dell’Orso has been doing in the region over the past 18 months. Lavinia (Nia) Cagilaba joins our Pilbara team, which increases our staffing capacity to the equivalent of a full-time person. Nia has graduated from the Pilbara Performance Program as an aspiring young basketballer and is thrilled by the opportunity to start a career in her chosen sport.

Participation Manager, Michael Cake, said “this is an exciting time for country basketball and particularly for the Goldfields and Pilbara regions. We now offer a clearer development pathway for country basketballers and are able to help accelerate their development. This also gives us the capacity to grow the game in smaller country towns and remote communities.”

“With our reach extending from Kununurra in the north to Esperance in the south and Kalgoorlie in the east, basketball is the envy of many other sports.”

8 JANUARY 2021
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Download MEDIA RELEASE – Goldfields Development Officer

Image Credit (SBL-RD12-Senators): Sports Imagery Australia