Last weekend marked the conclusion of the second annual Northern Inland Basketball League (NIBL), with the Finals closing out the successful 2023 season of NIBL.
Delivering on its promise to return bigger and better since its inception in September 2022, this year saw 196 registered athletes, as well as 35 referees all participate in NIBL.
2023 saw NIBL have two separate rounds and the cross-over finals, as well as five Local Gala Days and the Mega Gala Day prior to the start of the league. The Mega Gala Day provided players from all over the New England region the chance to take part in a coaching clinic, run by local coaches, as well as offering three courses for free to community members covering areas of basketball coaching, scoretable and refereeing.
The NIBL event garnered an overwhelmingly positive response, with enthusiastic participants engaging in skill-building activities, forging new connections, and thoroughly enjoying themselves, evident by the wide smiles on their faces.
Basketball NSW is proud of the growth of the league, which provides a low-cost representative basketball experience to participants in playing, coaching, refereeing, scoring and operations in a development environment. The aim is to have participants gain experience in a development framework that will enable progress to future representative competitions.
With over 2,000 players across eight associations in the New England area, many children and teenagers were still seeking out local opportunities to play basketball, resulting in the birth of NIBL – focusing on fun and participation, all whilst keeping costs low and affordable. BNSW would like to give a huge thank you to the Office for Regional Youth, who supported NIBL through a grant.
BNSW would like to thank all the participants who attended NIBL for their efforts, who showed enthusiasm despite the high temperatures, and to their parents and carers who supported them throughout the league. Congratulations and well done!
Another huge thank you to the NIBL Committee – Donna, Jody, Ricky, Adam, Justin and Judy, whose hard work behind the scenes resulted in a massively successful event.
Thank you to Andrew, Tash, Kylie, Brad, Marty, Tane, Emma, Carol, and all the referees and coaches, who invested their time and expertise into basketball for the kids of the New England region.
BNSW would also like to thank the Tamworth Lions Club for providing food and adding an extra special touch to NIBL, as well as Uncle Len for his gracious Welcome to Country, and Nic the photographer for capturing the fun moments.
Finally, thank you to Lauren King and Cristi Juffermans, whose passion for the game and making it accessible to all drove plenty of behind the scenes work, to ensure NIBL 2023 was truly one to remember.
Click HERE to read more about basketball in the New England region and be sure to check out our Facebook page HERE for some pictures!