Empowering Local Communities in Papua New Guinea

GOLD COAST (Australia) – FIBA partnered with the Australia Defence Forces and the Basketball Federation of Papua New Guinea to deliver coach and referee courses in Port Moresby and Madang, empowering local basketball communities to deliver quality competitions and programs.

Coordinated across one week, the series of workshops upskilled over 100 participants with official FIBA Coaching and Refereeing Accreditation.  The week tipped off in Port Moresby with aspiring coaches and referees engaged with on and off court education sessions mentored by FIBA, Australian Defence Forces (ADF) and the Basketball Federation of Papua New Guinea (BFPNG).

BFPNG President, Emma Waiwai said that the scale and professionalism of these workshops will significantly contribute to the growth of basketball in Port Moresby, Madang and beyond.

“The ability to have FIBA and the ADF join BFPNG to run these programs sets the foundations for our federation to build on,” Waiwai said.  “From these workshops we were also able to identify coaches and referees who are eager and capable to move to the next level and we hope to facilitate that.”

After two full days in Port Moresby, the workshops headed to Madang where some participants had travelled for three weeks to participate in the program and further their basketball knowledge.  Eunice Wapi from Madang said the opportunity to take part in the program will reshape her local village and how they deliver basketball programs.

“The training was refreshing,” Wapi said.  “Before in our village we would make up the rules as we went along, but now I am grateful that FIBA, the ADF and BFPNG came to inform and upskill our community.

“After the program I now feel like I have grown as a person and have the confidence to officiate a basketball match, I love basketball even more now.”

FIBA Executive Director – Oceania, Amanda Jenkins said that these types of partnerships and the opportunities they present play a pivotal part in the growth and development of national federations across Oceania.

“We were thrilled to partner with the Australian Defence Forces and BFPNG for this program,” Jenkins said.  “It was a great opportunity that really demonstrated the impact of basketball across a country like Papua New Guinea that is so vast.  To see the number of participants in Madang and to appreciate how far some of them had travelled was incredible, the love for basketball extends well beyond the boundaries of Port Moresby.

“We will continue to seek out partnerships such as this one to further develop basketball in the region,” Jenkins concluded.

BFPNG is supported by the Australian Government through Team Up, with programs delivered in conjunction with FIBA.