What makes this camp so special is that it’s about so much more than basketball.
We’ve got incredible young Indigenous athletes here from every state and territory across Australia.
They’ve come together to compete, to learn and to challenge themselves, but also to connect with each other, with culture and with people who understand the journey they’re on.
From an organisational point of view, something like this only happens because a lot of people genuinely care about creating opportunities for these young athletes.
We have been incredibly fortunate to work alongside Tyson Demos in putting the camp together. Tyson brings an enormous amount of basketball knowledge, but more importantly, a real understanding of what we want this camp to represent and the environment we want to create for the athletes.
Our States and Territories have also been fantastic. They’re the people who know these athletes, who work with them throughout the year and who have helped us identify and bring together this group from right across the country. This really is a national program and it wouldn’t happen without that collaboration.
We also have to acknowledge Kenita Bush, a proud Dalabon woman from the Northern Territory, whose artwork is represented on the uniforms the athletes are wearing. There’s something really powerful about the athletes being able to pull that jersey on and know that it represents more than simply being selected for a basketball camp. It represents culture, identity, their journey and the opportunities that lie ahead of them.
Then there are our coaches and mentors. They’ve invested enormously in these young people over the three days. They’re not simply trying to make them better basketballers; they’re helping them grow in confidence, understand what high performance looks like and hopefully believe a little more strongly in where basketball might take them.
We’ve also been incredibly fortunate to have our Centre of Excellence head coaches give up their time to work with the athletes. For a young player to come here and experience the AIS, train in this environment and have access to people working at the highest levels of our national pathway is incredibly valuable.
But ultimately, the stars of the camp are the athletes.
They’ve arrived from all corners of Australia, many of them not knowing each other, and watching the connections develop alongside the basketball has probably been the most rewarding part.
Of course we hope we’re looking at some future Opals and Boomers in this group. But success for this camp is bigger than that.
If they leave here as better basketballers, with greater confidence in themselves, proud of who they are and where they come from, with new friendships and a clearer understanding that there is a place for them in our game and our pathways, then I think we’ve achieved something pretty special.
And for Basketball Australia, our responsibility is to make sure this isn’t simply a great three-day experience.
It’s about continuing to create opportunities, connections and pathways for these athletes long after they leave Canberra.
