BASKETBALL NEW ZEALAND ANNUAL REPORT <strong>2012</strong>FROM OUR CHAIRBASKETBALL NEW ZEALAND ANNUAL REPORT <strong>2012</strong>FROM OUR CHIEF EXECUTIVE04/05FROM OURCHAIRIn September, we welcomed new chief executive Iain Potter to <strong>BBNZ</strong>. Iain spent the last fewmonths of the year familiarising himself with the basketball community and establishing severalpriority projects for attention in 2013.Interim chief executive Murray Strong completed his duties with <strong>BBNZ</strong> at around the same time.The board wishes to record its gratitude for the work Murray undertook while the search for a permanentchief executive was underway.<strong>2012</strong> was a year of change for <strong>Basketball</strong> <strong>New</strong> <strong>Zealand</strong>, as we consulted on the recommendationsof the All of <strong>Basketball</strong> Plan and then began implementing them. The new tournament calendar wasa good example of that work.“Business as usual” was still a big focus, with the national tournaments all providing fantastic examples ofwhat is great about basketball – passion, fun, excitement, family, friends, competition and camaraderie.A highlight was the FIBA Oceania U19 Championship for Men and Women, hosted by Porirua in September.This event was very well delivered and earned praise from FIBA officials for the manner in which it was run– congratulations Porirua and <strong>BBNZ</strong> tournament staff.The big disappointment of <strong>2012</strong> was the news that basketball is not considered a “high performance”sport in terms of funding from High Performance Sport <strong>New</strong> <strong>Zealand</strong>. This decision imposes some seriouschallenges on us as a truly international sport – but it also reminds us that basketball is our sport andultimately, it is up to us to take responsibility for its success.<strong>BBNZ</strong> is working hard to address the funding issues this decision has raised and we ask for your assistancein making sure we can continue to compete on the international stage.Financially, the environment remained difficult, but in large part thanks to the diligence of <strong>BBNZ</strong> staff inkeeping costs down and together with a revenue increase, a positive financial result was achieved.Also, Sport <strong>New</strong> <strong>Zealand</strong> continued to offer very welcome support and as a measure of confidence, haveconfirmed their support through to mid-2015. <strong>BBNZ</strong> is very appreciative that Sport NZ can see the potentialbasketball has for <strong>New</strong> <strong>Zealand</strong> youth.We are also appreciative of the support provided by the charitable trusts that have continued to help oursport either directly through <strong>BBNZ</strong> or through our affiliated members.During 2013 and beyond, <strong>BBNZ</strong> aims to develop a commercial strategy that will help build the sport atits grassroots, as well as at the high performance level. This will take time, as we need to demonstrate toprospective commercial partners that we have attractive options for them to partner with.We need to have our national teams competing within <strong>New</strong> <strong>Zealand</strong> regularly, in front of their communitiesand in the media, offering positive exposure for our sport and our partners. We need to be able to readilycommunicate with the basketball community and to offer that opportunity to our partners – these will bepriorities during 2013.The NBL provided a positive window into basketball, providing a much-needed profile for our game.<strong>BBNZ</strong> thanks the NBL board for the positive results achieved in <strong>2012</strong>. Similarly, the <strong>New</strong> <strong>Zealand</strong> Breakersprovided many thrills for the sport, with their nail-biting ANBL win for a second year in a row.I would like to thank all <strong>BBNZ</strong> board members for their hard work over the year. The board worked very welltogether, and to help ensure we continue to do so and improve where we can, we undertook an internalperformance review during the year.Thanks are owed to the <strong>BBNZ</strong> staff, who has worked hard to keep things moving in an environment, wherethere was a lot of change and uncertainty. Thanks also to everyone in the associations, who have stronglysupported the need to change and the vision contained within the All of <strong>Basketball</strong> Plan.I look forward to a very positive few years, as we turn the vision into reality.FROM OURCHIEF EXECUTIVEKia ora koutouThank you everyone for helping me familiarise myself with the basketball scene during my first fewmonths with <strong>Basketball</strong> <strong>New</strong> <strong>Zealand</strong>.It is both a challenging and exciting time for basketball. We have the compelling vision encompassedwithin the All of <strong>Basketball</strong> Plan and there is plenty of evidence showing how popular basketball is with<strong>New</strong> <strong>Zealand</strong> communities, our youth in particular.However, we also face challenges on the financial front, both at an organisational level (<strong>BBNZ</strong> andassociations) and for talented individuals who gain national selection.Change also brings challenges as “old” ways are left behind and “new” ways are introduced. We won’tget everything right first time, but with constructive feedback and a willingness to get it right, we canbuild something great.I am very appreciative of the willingness many in the basketball community have already demonstratedby agreeing to be part of the project teams <strong>BBNZ</strong> has initiated to help us design what “best” looks likeacross many areas of the sport.The passion and love for the game that I have witnessed since coming on board gives me confidencethat we can collectively achieve the vision that was endorsed at the <strong>2012</strong> AGM.The willingness of funders to buy into the story has been humbling – thank you to our supporters andfunders, especially Sport NZ, Peak, Molten, NZCT, Lion Foundation, Infinity Foundation, FIBA and BCDTravel.The challenge to find funding for the Tall Blacks and Tall Ferns is a significant one, but it is achievable.It has to be, if we want to continue the long and proud tradition these teams have created, but we willonly do it with your help.Thank you again for your help thus far.Iain Potter Chief ExecutiveKaren Poutasi Chairperson