ONE of the biggest days in women’s basketball will take place at the National Basketball Arena in Tallaght on Sunday, January 27.
The EPC (Elite Performance Committee) at Basketball Ireland announced that the inaugural Basketball Ireland Women’s Coaching Forum will be held at the Southside venue with the Hula Hoops Women’s National Cup final tipping off later that day.
The forum is the first stepping stone in Basketball Ireland’s commitment to the recently launched 20×20 campaign by the Federation of Irish Sport, and the organisation’s pledge to increase participation in female coaching by the year 2020.
Suzanne Maguire of the EPC stated: “Over recent years, it has become more and more apparent that we have a lack of women in prominent coaching positions in Ireland.
“This is visible from international level, down through Super League, National League and at some underage levels.
“The 20×20 campaign that was launched in October has brought national visibility to this issue, the impacts of which are felt across all sports. We see this as our opportunity to leverage on our 20×20 commitment and engage with the basketball community in a bid to understand the barriers preventing women having greater visibility, greater involvement and greater prominence in Irish basketball.
“The forum is open to both women and men,” she added. “And while there is a focus on coaching, we want to engage with a wide variety of people from across our community to add value to the discourse.
“We have invited notable women to sit on our panel on the day, and they will provide personal insights and recommendations for us moving forward.”
Attendance for the event is free, but pre-registration is required.
Basketball Ireland is the national governing body for basketball.
You can find out more about them by visiting the website www.basketballireland.ie