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ASSIST21
FIBA ASSIST MAGAZINE FOR BASKETBALL ENTHUSIASTS EVERYWHERE JULY / AUGUST 2006

CONGRESS
2006 ONE GOAL
WORLD ONE GAME
ONE GLOBE
;4
21_003_004_editorial 27-07-2006 23:15 Pagina 3

EDITORIAL

“WE MAKE SURE BASKETBALL

IS CHALLENGING, EXCITING,
AND FASCINATING FOR EVERYONE”
Welcome to the 21st edition of the FIBA
Assist Magazine. On the occasion of the
2006 FIBA World Congress in Japan this
special edition will not concentrate on the
usual content of the magazine, but guide
you on a journey through FIBA’s objectives
and activities.

This journey will bring you all over the globe,

through a variety of countries, pictures and
stories, which, however, can not fully catch
– in 80 pages only - the intensity and the
rhythm of our growing sport and by which
we all live on a day by day basis.

This journey started on the courts in India-

napolis in 2002. Serbia and Montenegro
won the Championship back there on the
sacred US soil, but two years later it was Ar-
gentina that mesmerized the world by win-
ning Olympic Gold in 2004. In 2006 in Japan,
even more teams can aspire to end up on
the podium while the specialised press ex-
pects a renewed and motivated US team,
with players proud to wear the uniforms of
their national team. The uncertainty has ne-
ver been higher and only the court will tell
us where the game goes.

Off the courts, our journey brought us

physically in 2002 from Munich, Germany,
where we have been facing serious – and
still unresolved - tax issues, to Geneva,
Switzerland. This was a considerable tur-
ning-point for FIBA as we also split ope-
rations with FIBA Europe, which remai-
ned in Munich and became an autono-
mous organization as all other Zones in
accordance with our Statutes.

This was also the time, in 2003, when the

FIBA Central Board adopted, after one
year of work, its strategic plan and score-
cards. Many of the activities that are cap-
tured in this magazine – and the magazine
itself - are a direct consequence of this
process.
FIBA ASSIST MAGAZINE | 21 2006 | PAGE 3
21_003_004_editorial 27-07-2006 23:15 Pagina 4

EDITORIAL

All five FIBA Zones were renamed and a at all levels, but the approved FIBA harmo- products such as textiles, souvenirs and
new FIBA brand identity was launched nized calendar provides for a minimum su- sports equipment may be ordered online on
at the beginning of 2003 . This new iden- stainable framework for most activities. fiba.com. The opening allowed us not only
tity includes the FIBA World and FIBA to enlarge our business portfolio but helped
Zone logos, colour schemes and type fa- In the meantime “Basketball for Young us to further promote the FIBA brand.
ces, in an integrated worldwide concept, Players” (published in 2000), an important
which is unique in the international spor- reference for young coaches, has been At the end of 2005, FIBA distributed the Na-
ting movement and led FIBA to the laun- translated throughout the years in six lan- tional Federations Manual late last year
ch of a new web page, followed shortly guages; Olympic Solidarity Courses were and presented it at all Zone General As-
by all FIBA Zones. held all over the world and important mo- semblies in 2006. The Manual is a complete
nies were invested in them; FIBA and NBA and comprehensive collection of informa-
To react to unfavourable market condi- jointly started Basketball Without Borders tion to assist each National Federation in
tions, FIBA created its own TV, Marketing camps, which developed considerably sin- their everyday operations.
and Events department at that same pe- ce 2001, reaching today 4 continents, over
riod, pooling together the marketing and te- 80 national federations and 250 kids every Our journey brings us to 2006 and here to
levision rights to all major official competi- summer. Japan and, later in September, to Brazil. On
tions at world and continental level. The re- this long journey one can not forget the im-
sults over the first cycle are promising and In the winter of 2004, FIBA’s Media Guide portance of our women basketball, a sec-
almost 25 million USD were generated and was launched on-line. Very useful, the me- tion of our sport that is exciting, but chal-
returned to the FIBA Zones. This new focus dia guide contains information and contact lenging when it comes to make it succes-
of activity pushed the respective FIBA de- details for FIBA National Federations and sful worldwide.
partments to attend almost all of the events FIBA National Federations Clubs. An im-
around the globe and to create explanatory portant Media Directory is also available. Finally, this journey would have been hope-
manuals in 2003, to be distributed to poten- less without the commitment of all the FIBA
tial sponsors, TV channels and, most im- In the fall of 2004, the decision about the family and of the FIBA staff in Geneva and
portantly, to Local Organizing Committees host country for 2010 World Championship in the Zones. They, you, deserve most of
that wish to bid for a FIBA event. was taken in Kuala Lumpur. Turkey, one of the credit.
the fastest growing basketball countries,
But as Indianapolis showed, the level of won by one vote over France the right to I hope this issue of FIBA Assist will give
our game was growing and new teams host FIBA’s premier event with the comple- you a glimpse of our vision and mission as
were reaching top rankings. Therefore, te cooperation of national authorities. we try to make basketball challenging, ex-
the FIBA family was mature to expand the citing and fascinating for everyone. We ha-
World Championship for Men from 16 In May 2005, several important regulations ve our problems and new ones will come
teams in 2002 to 24 teams today in Japan came into force such as the Regulations along as in any business or family. Also, de-
and we owe our appreciation to the Japa- governing League Organisations, the Regu- mand for better conditions, for better rules,
nese Federation for accepting this chal- lations governing Players’ Agents and the for better facilities and for more revenues
lenge. Regulations governing FIBA Approved Coa- is growing, and this must be reconciled
ches. The relationship between leagues, with responsible activities and choices.
As a recognition to the increased popularity, clubs and national federations remains a
basketball was introduced in the 2006 Com- constant challenge of our pyramidal system But basketball is a team sport and as such,
monwealth Games in Melbourne Australia; and the regulations aim at a reasonable through a strong spirit of partnership
FISU, following FIBA’s advice, modified its working relationship among all stakehol- between all our National Federations, Zo-
basketball competition system to make it ders. Agents are to the eyes of many a ne- nes, Sponsors, Partners and Friends in ge-
more attractive and useful to the FIBA fa- cessary evil, but there is no doubt that they neral, and through innovative programmes
mily; and FIBA introduced a more regular perform a precise and positive role in the and activities, FIBA is paving its way
world competition calendar for the young- eyes of players and teams. FIBA’s role is to towards a strong and sustainable journey
sters, focusing on U18 and U16 categories. ensure that there are no abuses and that in the future.
standard code of conducts and ethics ap-
At the same time, as basketball was one of ply to this environment. Finally, we need re- We are basketball.
the few sports not providing national teams sponsible and competent coaches, in parti-
with the “second chance” opportunity to cular for our younger generations of
qualify for the Olympic Games, FIBA esta- players. The approved regulations will al-
blished the Pre Olympic Qualifying Tourna- low us to create a database of all coaches
ment for 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. This worldwide and later on to include quality
first edition will be a test to attract attention requirements for obtaining the license.
to our sport shortly before the Olympics to
the benefit of FIBA. Summer 2005 saw the launch of the FIBA
on-line store, the first ever merchandising
Certainly some work remains to be done as program and e-business of the Internatio- Patrick Baumann
the competition calendar is overcrowded nal Basketball Federation. A wide range of FIBA Secretary General

PAGE 4 | 21 2006 | FIBA ASSIST MAGAZINE

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

EDITORIAL
“We Make Sure Basketball Is Challenging,
Exciting, and Fascinating For Everyone” 3
Vision, Strategy and activities
A New Identity 6
SCORECARDS
Our Objectives 8
competitions
A Growing Success 15
NATIONAL FEDERATIONS MANUAL
Global Tool for Local Improvements 19
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FIBA ASSIST MAGAZINE | 21 2006 | PAGE 5

21_006_007.qxd 27-07-2006 23:16 Pagina 6

VISION, STRATEGY AND ACTIVITIES

A new identity
MASTERING TRENDS AND COMPETITION As a part of this process and in order to start a strategic review of FIBA's
In the recent past and from a global reflect a global personality for basket- activities.
point of view, the sports market has ball, FIBA developed and launched a 2. The Secretaries General of the FIBA
changed very much in contrast to pre- new identity that stands out in the over- Zones and the Secretariat of FIBA
vious decades. The professionalisation crowded market place, maximises all during their meeting on 18 - 20 April
of market players is forcing everyone in synergies and reflects the desired glo- 2002 set up the general framework
this highly competitive market segment bal personality for the sport and FIBA as of the process. Together with KPMG,
to improve constantly in large steps and its “pacemaker”. an Audit Company, FIBA's activities
to protect or expand their own market For FIBA to be successful in the long were divided into 5 interdependent
position. The collapse of some of the term, it needs to continuously adapt its fields of activities (scorecards).
industry's leading forces (such as ISL, structure and management processes 3. First drafts for vision and mission
Kirch Group, ITV Digital) and a simulta- to new situations, and considerably statements, the choice of key field of
neous downturn of the whole sports grow the commercial value of its brand activities were approved and the
and entertainment industry - in and sports competitions vis-à-vis rival creation of a new FIBA corporate
conjunction with a huge slump in the sports and entertainment properties. identity were approved by the FIBA
world economy - has led to a sharp con- This requires a fresh look at the sport, Central Board meeting on 17 - 19
traction in overall investment in the with a view to raise awareness and June 2002.
sports industry, and an increased focus attractiveness of existing sports com- 4. The FIBA Zone Secretaries General
towards the “premier sports” with petitions as well as the introduction of continued their work on this pro-
regards to rights and events by the new meaningful events, aimed at rai- cess on 13th and 14th November
media, the sponsors and - as a result - sing the global profile of basketball - 2002 and were introduced to a set of
the general public as well. and at the same time an integrated and 24 objectives divided into five fields
Basketball, one of the top three consistent approach to Branding, of activities. 12 top priority objecti-
Olympic sports and the No. 1 indoor Media, Marketing and Licensing, using ves were selected and each Zone
sport worldwide, has also suffered the synergies for the benefit of the sport was asked to prepare its own set of
from this development. Media distribu- and its commercial success. scorecards in consultation with its
tion and revenue for FIBA's events, The development and introduction of partners in the respective Zones
both at world and continental level, are innovative and tailor-made rights and in accordance with the adopted
stalling and the acquisition of new packages and services for all commer- principles.
sponsors or new television partners is cial partners has to take into account 5. The FIBA Central Board meeting,
a difficult sell - not because of unsati- major trend changes in the leisure and held on 15th and 16th November,
sfactory price/value relationship, but entertainment industry and will need approved the concept and the
mainly because markets are down and new and imaginative marketing skills. selected 12 objectives. At the same
the product is not at its apogee with FIBA, as the world governing body of time, Interbrand Zintzmeyer and Lux,
media, consumers and targeted com- basketball, is a well known non-profit world renowned branding experts
mercial partners. sports organisation, yet needs to act from Zurich, presented to the FIBA
FIBA's aim and responsibility are to set more like a professional market player. Central Board the concept for a new
the pace for basketball and to make the As a consequence, FIBA is ready to FIBA corporate identity. This con-
game happen, everywhere on this pla- accept changes in order to prepare for cept was also approved.
net. In order to assume this responsibi- the future. 6. The FIBA Zone Secretaries General
lity to the full, FIBA needs to act with This is why FIBA has decided to start a met again on March 22nd and 23rd
confidence and embrace the basketball process to improve its strategies, struc- to review and approve all
community with its master plan to tures, processes and systems to stay Scorecards (FIBA and FIBA Zones)
further increase the attractiveness of ahead of the competition and to protect and prepare the official launch of
the sport and to grow its popularity and its own rights and values that have the new brand identity.
the number of players throughout the been built up over 70 years. 7. In April 2003 the new FIBA Assist
world. This process has led FIBA to this docu- Magazine and new brand identity
This can only be achieved through a ment, which represents a strategic were launched.
much closer co-operation between the master plan for the next 4 to 8 years. 8. The final "FIBA Vision - Strategy -
five FIBA Zones and FIBA with its 212 Activities" was presented to the
member federations on shared values THE PROCESS Central Board for approval and
and objectives, a process FIBA is keen 1. In November 2001, the FIBA Central implementation at its meeting on
to progress. Board approved the proposal to May 24th and 25th, 2003.
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FIBA'S TIME TO CHANGE are the relationship between FIBA and ▼ THE SPORT OF BASKETBALL
In order to develop a strategic master NBA and the current situation within 1. Increase the quality of the sport of
plan, the foundations, which are the European Club Basketball. FIBA is ready basketball in the area of players,
vision, the mission and the long-term to ensure that all parties work on the coaches and referees.
objectives, must be laid. Once these same objectives and in a concerted 2. Have well organised and efficient
foundations are concrete, strategies way. It is necessary to strengthen and National Federations.
may be implemented by specific activi- achieve the right balance between
ties. FIBA's strategy is derived from the national teams and club basketball ▼ THE AUDIENCE
interaction of FIBA's long-term financial worldwide, and defend and improve 1. Increase image, awareness and
and non-financial objectives, from the FIBA's overall competitive position.Any audience at the world and continen-
market position of FIBA in the basketball strategy is a balance between taking tal championships.
and sports market and, finally, derived chances and managing risks. FIBA is 2. Improve entertainment value of the
from the generation and use of FIBA's determined to act by strengthening its television product.
resource base. In the basketball market core competences and values without
FIBA holds a quasi-monopolistic market endangering its heritage. ▼ DEVELOPMENT
position. In the indoor and team sports 1. Attract and keep young players.
market, basketball is the No. 1 indoor FIBA'S VISION 2. Study the possibility of new world
sport with approximately 450 million acti- The sport of basketball is the core ele- events.
ve players in terms of participants. It is ment of FIBA´s vision: 3. Provide assistance for development
No. 1 in North America and Asia and in ”FIBA believes that sports provide peo- of facilities.
terms of popularity No. 2 in Europe and ple with values through which they defi-
South- America, and finally in terms of ne themselves. Basketball is unique: ▼ INTERNAL PROCESSES
audience, No. 3 after the Olympics and fast and precise, mind and body, a sport 1. Introduce worldwide consistent
the FIFA World Cup. It is the attractive- in which the individual is as powerful as standards of structure and manage-
ness of the sport of basketball which is the team“. ment.
FIBA's largest asset. Furthermore, FIBA 2. Improve regular and permanent
strives for an extension of its market FIBA'S MISSION communication within the FIBA
position in terms of the number of “FIBA governs basketball worldwide, family.
players and the number and quality of making the rules and keeping the sport 3. Define standards of organization for
tournaments. Therefore, FIBA aims to in line. We make sure basketball is chal- different categories of FIBA events.
support the establishment of strong Zone lenging, exciting and fascinating for 4. Achieve standardised, world class
club championships outside Europe, to everyone. FIBA is basketball“. television production and delivery of
include emerging basketball federations FIBA events.
in the World Competitions and to set FIBA'S LONG-TERM OBJECTIVES
social trends for FIBA's own develop- The development of the sport of basket- ▼ FINANCIALS
ment by supporting innovative ideas. ball is FIBA´s "raison d'être". Its long- 1. Generate adequate financial resour-
Moreover, strategies include building term objectives are geared towards this ces in order to develop basketball
resources, improving efforts in television aim and show a broad range of interests worldwide and in all forms.
rights distribution, marketing and the and activities which are grouped into
further development of the Study Centre five inter-dependent fields of activity These long-term objectives have been
concepts. FIBA's financial resources are (scorecards). broken down in individual "FIBA
adequate for today's structure but insuf- FIBA's longterm objectives as per these Scorecards" (described in details in the
ficient to finance all aspects of basket- five fields of activity are as follows: next article) with each of them attributed
ball. By raising additional specific measures, targets
funds and developing and initiatives (= projects).
innovative non-finan- The initiatives as defined
cial activities, FIBA in the “FIBA
can close the finan- Scorecards“ will
cial gap and receive priority
reach all long- attention and
term objectives. allocation of
As a result FIBA resources as
will be able to and when nee-
offer greater ded. It is of cru-
financial sup- cial importance
port to all areas for the success
of basketball. It of this ambitious
is essential that program to reach
FIBA, the Zones and National agreement within FIBA on the
Federations create a tightly knit set of objectives, initiatives and
worldwide basketball network for the their timing in order to coordinate all
good of basketball. efforts in the same direction and to maxi-
Two areas which need careful attention mise synergies for the good of basketball.

FIBA ASSIST MAGAZINE | 21 2006 | PAGE 07

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SCORECARDS

OUR OBJECTIVES
I. THE SPORT OF BASKETBALL (ACTIVE POPULATION)
1. INCREASE THE QUALITY OF THE SPORT OF BASKETBALL IN THE AREA OF PLAYERS, COACHES AND REFEREES
1 A) PLAYERS

1 B) COACHES

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1 C) REFEREES

2. HAVE WELL ORGANIZED AND EFFICIENT NATIONAL FEDERATIONS

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SCORECARDS

II. THE AUDIENCE (PASSIVE POPULATION)

3. INCREASE IMAGE, AWARENESS, AND AUDIENCE AT WORLD AND CONTINENTAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

4. IMPROVE ENTERTAINMENT VALUE OF THE PRODUCT

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III. DEVELOPMENT
5. ATTRACT AND KEEP YOUNG PLAYERS

6. PROVIDE ASSISTANCE FOR DEVELOPMENT OF FACILITIES

7. STUDY THE POSSIBILITY OF NEW WORLD EVENTS

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SCORECARDS

IV. INTERNAL PROCESSES

8. INTRODUCE CONSISTENT WORLDWIDE STANDARDS OF STRUCTURE AND MANAGEMENT

9. IMPROVE REGULAR AND PERMANENT COMMUNICATION WITHIN THE FIBA FAMILY

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10. DEFINE STANDARDS OF ORGANIZATION FOR DIFFERENT CATEGORIES OF FIBA EVENTS

11. HARMONIZE WORLDWIDE CALENDAR

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SCORECARDS

12. GENERATE ADEQUATE FINANCIAL RESOURCES IN ORDER TO DEVELOP BASKETBALL WORLDWIDE WITHIN
A BALANCED FINANCIAL BUDGET

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COMPETITIONS

A Growing Success
1. COMPETITIONS
In spite of the fact that there were no FIBA
World Championships for Men or Women
since 2002, the FIBA Central Board has
made many very important decisions,
including decisions related to the Men’s
Championship.
The growing popularity of basketball
worldwide and the fact that more and
more national men’s teams were reaching
the top standard, it became necessary to
expand the Championship for Men from 16
teams to 24 teams. The Japan Basketball
Association (organizer of the champion-
ship) has agreed that the FIBA World
Championship for Men 2006 will be played
(for the second time after Spain 1986) with
24 teams.

The FIBA World Championships for Youth

Categories were organized as follows:

▼ 2003 U19 Men Thessaloniki, Greece

▼ 2003 U21 Women Sibenik, Croatia
▼ 2005 U21 Men Cordoba and Mar del
Plata, Argentina
▼ 2005 U19 Women Nabeul and Tunis,
Tunisia

It should be noted that the U19 Men 2003

has been assigned to Greece only six
weeks before the start of the championship
(replacement of Malaysia due to SARS)
and that the U21 Women 2005 in Tunisia
was the first ever FIBA World
Championship held on the continent of
Africa.

The main goals for the FIBA World

Championships were to improve the orga-
nization of the existing championships and
to study the possibility of having new FIBA
world events.
The U17 Championships will be played every organize these championships.
The following new FIBA events were intro- two years and the FIBA Zones are strongly
duced or approved in the period in que- encouraged to introduce in 2009 the FIBA B. FIBA U19 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS FOR MEN
stion. Zones U16 Championships (if not already exi- AND WOMEN EVERY TWO YEARS
sting) or at least the FIBA Sub-Zones In order to provide young players with
A. FIBA U17 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS FOR MEN Championships. more opportunities, become internatio-
AND WOMEN nally exposed, and gain more experien-
Upon the joint proposal of the FIBA Youth Should this goal not be reached in 2009, ce by playing games against teams
Commission and the FIBA Commission for FIBA will invite (upon FIBA Zones pro- coming from different parts of the world,
International Competitions, the FIBA posals) the teams for the first FIBA U17 the FIBA Central Board has decided to
Central Board decided to abolish, as of World Championships for Men and play the U19 World Championships every
2007, the U21 category and to introduce, as Women in 2010. We are very pleased to two years (instead of every four) and to
of 2010, the World Championship in a new learn that almost all strong basketball increase the number of participating
age U17 category for both Men and federations have already expressed teams in U19 Women to sixteen, as for
Women. their wish to participate as well as U19 Men.
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COMPETITIONS

C. DIAMOND BALL
The 1st FIBA Diamond Ball for Men (with 6
teams) was played in 2000 in Hong Kong.
The idea behind this new event was to pro-
vide the world’s best teams with the oppor-
tunity to play quality games, shortly before
the Olympic Games, in a country close to
its venue. The latter also allowed the teams
to acclimatize better when moving
between continents.
The success of the first edition led to the
decision of the FIBA Central Board to play
the FIBA Diamond Ball regularly (2nd FIBA
Diamond Ball for Men was played in 2004 in
Belgrade, Serbia & Montenegro) and to
have it organized also for women.
The 1st FIBA Diamond Ball for Women with
six teams was held in 2004 in Heraklion,
Greece.

The 3rd Diamond Ball for Men and the 2nd

for Women will be played shortly before
the Olympic Games 2008 with 6 teams each
(the host country and the five winners of
the FIBA Zone Championship 2007 will be
invited).

D. FIBA WORLD LEAGUE FOR WOMEN

In order to raise the standard of the
women’s basketball, FIBA and the
Russian Basketball Federation agreed to
organize the FIBA World League for
Women 2003-2008.
The 1st edition in 2003 was played in
Samara, Russia as single tournament
with six teams, representing all FIBA
Zones.

Due to the competition’s success in 2003,

all the following editions (until today)
were played with two preliminary round
tournaments (four teams each) and a final
round (played in Russia with eight teams),
with very favorable conditions for the par-
ticipating teams.
So far, the League was played in seven
countries (Chinese Taipei, Brazil, Cuba,
Korea, Hungary, China, Russia) with the
participation of 46 teams from all the FIBA
Zones.
in Nanjing and Kunshan, China, once ded to organize in 2008 the FIBA World
E. BORISLAV STANKOVIC CUP
again with six teams (Australia, Brazil, Olympic Qualifying Tournaments for Men
Upon the initiative of the FIBA President
China, France, Germany, Greece), we all and Women. The basketball tournaments
Carl Men-Ky Ching, the tournament for
wish to have it played regularly every year at the Olympic Games 2008 will be played
the national men’s teams was created,
with the participation of at least six teams. with 12 teams. The FIBA World Olympic
honoring the contribution of Borislav
Tournament for Men will be played on 7th-
Stankovic, FIBA Secretary General from
F. WORLD OLYMPIC QUALIFYING TOURNAMENTS 13th July 2008 with 12 teams from all FIBA
1976 to 2002, to the development of
Basketball was the only sport not provi- Zones. Three teams will be qualified (in
basketball worldwide.
ding the national teams with the “second addition to China, the winner of the FIBA
After having the Borislav Stankovic Cup
chance” opportunity to qualify for the World Championship 2006, the winners of
played in 2005 in Shanghai, China, with six
Olympic Games. each FIBA Zone Championship 2007, and
teams (Angola, Argentina, Australia,
two teams placed 2nd in the FIBA Europe
China, Puerto Rico, Lithuania) and in 2006
The FIBA Central Board has since deci- and FIBA America Championship 2007).
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Championship for Men.” This manual descri-

bes in very fine detail not only the sports part
of the championship, but also clarifies FIBA
duties and responsibilities, as well as all the
rights and obligations of all those who are, in
one way or another, related to the cham-
pionship (organizing national basketball
federations, Local Organizing Committees,
teams, officials, media, sponsors, and servi-
ce providers).

The FIBA Event and Bid Manual became a

much-requested document, not only from the
organizers of basketball events, but also from
other sports federations which expressed their
very positive opinion of the Manual. A similar
document for the FIBA World Championship
for Women and for FIBA World Championships
for Youth Categories will be launched soon.

B. FIBA RANKING
The question on the positioning of a country in
the world basketball hierarchy has been rai-
sed on a regular basis.

Since 2003, FIBA has established a “FIBA

Ranking,” which ranks all FIBA member coun-
tries according to their results. The ranking is
established separately for national men’s
teams, national women’s teams, and there is a
joint ranking for both genders.
The ranking takes into consideration the
results of the senior men and women national
teams, as well as the results of the national
teams in the youth categories in the last five
years, not only at the FIBA World but also at
the FIBA Zone Championships.

Despite the fact that the FIBA Ranking is

relatively static due to the fact that there are
few events to be evaluated regularly (every
month), it still has an important media expo-
sure and it is a very interesting FIBA promo-
tional tool.

C. HARMONIZED FIBA CALENDAR

The growing popularity of basketball, the glo-
balization of the basketball world, the birth of
the professional basketball leagues, and a
“stars” oriented marketing strategy created in
recent years conflicts between governing
The FIBA World Olympic Qualifying general and the basketball championshi-
basketball bodies, national teams, clubs, and
Tournament for Women will be played on ps in particular have attracted many new
players.
9th-15th June 2008, also with 12 teams entities willing to cooperate with the sport
from all the FIBA Zones. Five teams will be governing bodies.
National teams and clubs were requesting
qualified (in addition to China, the winner
additional playing days in an already overcrow-
of the FIBA World Championship 2006, National, regional, and local governing
ded calendar in order to execute their activities
and the winners of each FIBA Zone bodies, media, and sponsors became
with the same players. As a result, they had
Championship 2007). more prominent at FIBA World
fewer rest periods and were not able to play at
Championships. In order to facilitate the
2. MISCELLANEOUS ACTIVITIES cooperation and to specify all the duties
full strength for their national teams or clubs.
The players became overworked, which led to
and obligations of all parties involved,
increased injuries and, in return, a decrease
A. FIBA EVENT AND MANUAL BID FIBA has created a 300-page document,
participation in competitions.
In the past few decades, sports events in “FIBA Event and Bid Manual for World
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21_015_018_competition 27-07-2006 23:17 Pagina 18

COMPETITIONS

Taking the above into consideration, in porate identity strategy, to have use a bi- introduced for the first time into the pro-
2003 FIBA introduced the “FIBA colored basketball. gram of the Commonwealth Games.
Harmonized Calendar for Senior Men Recently, the organizers of the 1st
and Women Players.” The calendar year The FIBA Technical Commission conduc- Lusofonia Games (for Portuguese
of 12 months has been divided into three ted a survey with regards to the possible speaking countries), to be held in Macao,
parts that do not conflict with each rule changes to play basketball games 7th-15th October 2006 are in regular con-
other, providing club teams with nine with 4 x 12 minutes duration and to move tact with FIBA to have their Games played
months, national teams with two months, the 3-point line further back. The result of under the FIBA umbrella in the best possi-
and one month reserved for the player’s the survey revealed that both changes ble conditions.
holidays. are not necessary at present. However,
the Commission will run statistical sur- The cooperation with the organizers of
In principle, the FIBA Harmonized Calendar veys on various aspects of the basketball the Continental “Olympic Games” such
has been very well accepted by all parties game in order to have future proposals as the Pan American Games, all Africa
and FIBA intends to go even further in for rule changes based on more objective Games, and the Asian Games is also in
order to avoid future problems linked to the basis. progress. The good reputation of FIBA
release of players between clubs, national leads to the fact that more organizations
teams and vice versa, and general insu- E. COOPERATION WITH OTHER are asking FIBA for its professional help
rance policy. ORGANIZATIONS and advice in order to have the basketball
The FIBA Central Board has decided to tournaments played at the top level. We
D. FIBA TECHNICAL COMMISSION establish stronger relations with all the are providing our help in training refe-
For many years, there were animated governmental or sport associations and rees, in selecting the teams, designating
discussions about whether it would be with the organizers of the multi-sport the FIBA Delegates, Commissioners, and
good for women’s basketball to play with events where basketball is part of the Referees, approving the sport facilities
a smaller ball (size 6) and to lower the program. and equipment, and providing logistical
height of the basketball rims. The propo- support (organizational manual, statistics
sal of lowering the rim attracted only few FIBA had already had a close cooperation program, and competition schedules).
supporters and they were divided on the with the FISU (University Games) and the
issue of using the smaller ball. In 2004, the organizers of the Mediterranean Games. In addition to the organizers of the Pan
FIBA Central Board finally decided to Arab and the Maccabi Games, the World
accept the proposal of the FIBA In 2000, FIBA, the organizers of the Military Games and Championships, the
Technical Commission to play women’s Francophone Games and the World School Games, the Masters Games,
games with a smaller ball. The FIBA Commonwealth Games Federation have we are ready to help and support all other
Central Board also decided in the same established a very close cooperation. In organizers to have basketball as the lea-
year, as a part of its promotional and cor- 2006, in Melbourne, basketball has been ding sport at their multi-sport events.
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NATIONAL FEDERATIONS MANUAL

GLOBAL TOOL
FOR LOCAL
IMPROVEMENT
The National Federations Manual, pro- dation for a federation-
duced by FIBA, in collaboration with including the elaboration
various basketball experts from around of a Constitution and the
the world, is a complete and com- building of new facili-
prehensive collection of information to ties-is a crucial aspect in
assist each National Federation in their managing sport in every
everyday operations and for the overall nation. This section
future of basketball in each country. helps answer all que-
The FIBA National Federations Manual stions and will guide
gives concrete information about many each organization in the
important areas. right direction.

Not only does the manual provide infor- 2. Building. After having
mation about areas the federation deals set out a solid foundation
with on a daily basis, but it also serves for a National Federation
as a user-friendly tool to help guide in section one, this sec-
federations in how to take a giant step tion is about growing the
closer to achieving their goals. sport of basketball in
each country from the
It doesn't matter if a federation is just grassroots level through
starting up or if it has existed for deca- to the elite. This section
des, there is something in this manual provides useful hints and
for everyone. By making this guide a co- recommendations from
pilot and using it to meet the various organizing and managing
needs of each organization, the federa- mini-basketball, talent competitions, scouting, and coa-
tions can be assured that they are lea- development, and National Team ching.
ding their sport in the right direction and Programs. Furthermore, this section
that the questions and concerns they provides information about adapting 4. Promoting. The underlying driver to
have for the future of basketball are to the physical challenges of what keeps basketball alive is the
addressed. modern basketball and emphasizes fact that people want to keep on
the importance of having a medical playing. However, to achieve this, it
With the manual in the hands of all the program in each National requires some knowledge about
National Federations, FIBA wants to Federation. how to market the sport in the right
help facilitate the process of measuring way. More specifically, this section
progress, assisting the federations and 3. Playing. With the basics laid out for entails relevant and useful informa-
providing guidance in whichever way a National Federation and with the tion about branding the sport, media
they can. growth of basketball being expe- relations and communications, sel-
The Manual provides advice and guide- rienced throughout the world, it is ling to sponsors, television, event
lines in four separate, yet inter-related, now time to play! This third section management, and event marketing,
sections: of the manual includes hints about all of which, if managed effectively,
where federations should focus are key factors in successful promo-
1. Structuring. From strategic planning their efforts in the different areas of tion of a sport.
to the financial management of a competitions. It also includes infor-
National Federation, this section mation about referee infrastructure, All these sections have been developed
provides each organization with a game preparation scouting, the edu- in depth in a user-friendly format.
blueprint of all the necessary back- cational and role model aspects of
ground information required to get coaching, and much more. This sec- The National Federations Manual was
started in the most efficient and tion drives the reader to the field of created for those who want to make a
effective way. Ensuring a solid foun- play where one may learn about difference in the sport.
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OLYMPIC SOLIDARITY PROGRAMS

THE LARGE
FAMILY
I. OVERVIEW
Throughout the years, FIBA and its National
Federations are some of the biggest beneficiaries of
the numerous useful possibilities offered by the
International Olympic Committee through their
Olympic Solidarity Programs.

Hereby, are presented the activities that were managed

by FIBA. These activities are spread out into two terms,
which together count for six years. These six years are
divided into two phases; a four-year period from 2001 to
2004 and a two-year period from 2005 to 2006.

A. “TEAM SPORT SUPPORT GRANTS” 2001 – 2004

14 National Federations received “Team Sports
Support Grants” for National Team training camps
and competitions leading towards Olympic Games.

▼ Angola Men’s team

▼ Central African Republic Men’s team
▼ Cuba Women’s team
▼ Czech Republic Women’s team
▼ Estonia Men’s team
▼ Latvia Men’s team
▼ Lebanon Men’s team
▼ Lithuania Women’s team
▼ Lithuania Men’s team
▼ Mozambique Women’s team
▼ Puerto Rico Men’s team
▼ Russia Women’s team
▼ Senegal Women’s team
▼ Slovenia Men’s team
▼ Turkey Men’s team

The total amount of money invested by Olympic

Solidarity towards “Team Sports Support Grants” pro-
gram in the 2001 – 2004 period was $US 1.247.300.

“TEAM SPORT SUPPORT GRANTS” 2005 – 2006

25 National Federations received “Team Sports
Support Grants” for National Team training camps
and competitions leading towards Olympic Games.

▼ Algeria Men’s team

▼ American Samoa Men’s team
▼ Angola Men’s team
▼ Antigua Men’s team
▼ Belize Men’s team
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▼ Burundi Men’s team

▼ Bulgaria Men’s team
▼ Cape Verde Men’s team
▼ Columbia Women’s team
▼ Congo Men’s team
▼ Cuba Women’s team
▼ Lebanon Men’s team
▼ Libya Men’s team
▼ Lithuania Women’s team
▼ Malawi Men’s team
▼ Malta Women’s team
▼ Mozambique Women’s team
▼ New Zealand Women’s team
▼ Panama Men’s team
▼ Peru Women’s team
▼ Qatar Men’s team
▼ St. Vincent and Grenadines Men’s team
▼ Slovenia Men’s team
▼ Solomon Islands Women’s team
▼ Uzbekistan Women’s team

The total amount of money invested by Olympic

Solidarity towards “Team Sports Support Grants” pro-
gram in the 2005 – 2006 period was $US 1.505.200.

Thus, the total amount of money invested by Olympic

Solidarity towards “Team Sports Support Grants” pro-
gram in the 2001 – 2006 period was $US 2.752.500.

B. 173 “TECHNICAL COURSES FOR COACHES” WERE

ORGANIZED
▼ 55 in Africa.
▼ 31 in America.
▼ 19 in Asia.
▼ 68 in Oceania.

The total amount of money invested by Olympic

Solidarity towards “Technical Courses for Coaches”
program in 2001 – 2006 period was $US 926.052.

C. 57 “OLYMPIC SCHOLARSHIP FOR COACHES” WERE GIVEN

▼ 33 in Africa.
▼ 16 in America.
▼ 6 in Asia.
▼ 2 in Europe.

The total amount of money invested by Olympic

Solidarity towards “Olympic Scholarship for Coaches”
program in the 2001 – 2006 period was $US 499.860.

D. 13 NATIONAL FEDERATIONS BENEFITED FROM THE

“DEVELOPMENT OF NATIONAL COACHING STRUCTURE”
PROGRAM

2001-2004 2005-2006
▼ Algeria ▼ Barbados
▼ Mozambique ▼ Mozambique
▼ Senegal ▼ Erithrea
▼ St. Vincent and Grenadines ▼ Uruguay
▼ Yemen ▼ Morocco
▼ Benin
▼ Rwanda
▼ Seychelles
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OLYMPIC SOLIDARITY PROGRAMS

The total amount of money invested by Olympic ting talent. The “Talent Identification Programs” will allow
Solidarity towards the “Development of National NOCs to achieve the following:
Coaching Structure” program in the 2001 – 2006
period was $US 350.000. ▼ Create or establish a national structure for talent identifi-
cation.
E. 1 NATIONAL FEDERATION BENEFITED FROM THE “YOUTH ▼ Continue to develop existing programs, in collaboration
DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM” with the International Federations and National
▼ Bahrain. Federations concerned.
▼ Become associated with projects already existing on the
The total amount of money invested by Olympic national level.
Solidarity towards the “Youth Development program” ▼ Olympic Solidarity will endeavor to assist NOCs with spe-
in the 2001 – 2006 period was $US 10.000. cific examples of talent identification projects, when
requested.
F. CONCLUSION FOR THE PERIOD 2001 - 2006
The total amount of money invested by International 3. “TECHNICAL COURSES FOR COACHES”
Olympic Committee through Olympic Solidarity pro- In the past few years we had streamlined the number and
grams during the 2001-2006 period was $US 4.223.412 quality of the coaches. There is today a global unified sylla-
(this excludes the programs directly funded by the bus that is used for all “Technical Courses for Coaches” pro-
Oceania National Olympic Committees). gram. The content of the book “Basketball for Young
Players” (which will be presented in this report) is now the
II. PROGRAMS BENEFITING BASKETBALL harmonized content at all clinics in addition to the specifici-
FIBA and its National Federations have benefited and ties indicated by the receiving National Federations and the
may benefit even more through a better understan- experience of the instructor assigned to conduct the training
ding of its possibilities and a continuous improving program. As acknowledged and emphasized by Olympic
communication and relationship with Olympic Solidarity, all courses must be held in line with the rules
Solidarity. During the past few years we had nume- established by the International Federation, whose training
rous meetings together. These meetings resulted in standards will be the benchmark for the program.
achieving many changes in the programs. They have
all been advantageous to our National Federations. 4. “OLYMPIC SCHOLARSHIP FOR COACHES”
The “Olympic Scholarship for Coaches” program provides many
Up until the 2001-2004 IOC quadrennial programs, opportunities, yet it can be used much more efficiently. The main
individual sports have benefited the most from the objective of this program is to offer coaches access to further
Olympic Solidarity programming and budgeting. For high-level training, experience, and knowledge, which they will
the current quadrennial 2005- 2008, we have been then use to benefit their respective national sports structures. A
able - through the improved relationship and constant coach receiving the scholarship should:
communication with Olympic Solidarity - to improve
possibilities for team sports. ▼ Belong to a sport federation on the Olympic program.
▼ Hold the rank of official national coach recognized in
1. “TEAM SPORTS SUPPORT GRANTS” his/her country of origin and/or by the respective
The main change has occurred in the “Team Sports International Federation.
Support Grants” program. This program offers techni- ▼ Be able to prove that he/she has practical experience as
cal and financial assistance focused on team prepa- a coach at national/international level.
ration for qualifying for the Beijing Olympic Games in ▼ Undertake to pass on his/her knowledge and work to con-
2008. The National Olympic Committees and the tinue developing his/her sport after receiving the training.
National Federations that do not have teams that have
the sufficient level to feasibly qualify for the Beijing
Olympic Games have now the possibility to receive
support for its preparation and participation in the fol-
lowing types of competitions:

▼ Multi-sport Games.
▼ World Championships (Senior and Junior).
▼ Continental Championships (Senior and Junior).
▼ Olympics qualification competitions.

2. “TALENT IDENTIFICATION PROGRAM”

One of the principal objectives of the Olympic
Movement is to help the youth of the world and offer
young, promising athletes, our symbols of the future,
the possibility to progress in order to reach elite spor-
ting levels. The “Talent Identification Programs” were
created to assist the NOCs and National Federations
to discover young athletes showing a particular spor-

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5. “DEVELOPMENT OF NATIONAL SPORTS STRUCTURE”

Another program where significant changes occur is
the “Development of National Sports Structure” pro-
gram, previously called “Development of National
Coaching Structure.” The development of sport in
certain countries is often hindered by the fact that the
national sport and coaching structure is disorganized
or even non-existent. The main objective of this pro-
gram, which was formerly focused on the national
coaching structures, is to allow NOCs to develop their
national sports and coaching structure by implemen-
ting a mid- to long-term action plan for a specific
sport.

NOCs have the choice of determining their priorities

and setting up a project, which will then enable them
to strengthen the whole national structure of a sport,
whether it is in the area of training coaches, spotting
talented youngsters, or providing support for athletes.

This program can be combined as much as possible

with the “Talent identification program.” NOCs are
offered the opportunity to receive a high level coach
from abroad for a specific period of time (three to six
months). The action plan includes the following:

▼ Establishing with National Federations coherent

and realistic long term development plans.
▼ Training of local coaches (national and club level).
▼ Improving the different training programs for elite
sport.
▼ Improving and establishing sport for all.
▼ Improve school sports.

III. CONCLUSION
The Olympic Solidarity programs have already produ-
ced excellent results for FIBA and its affiliates. Much
more will be achieved by maintaining constant com-
munication with Olympic Solidarity and informing the
National Basketball Federation so they will be aware
of and understand the possibilities of the various pro-
grams.
This training can take place only if Olympic Solidarity and the Basketball is a meticulous, precise sports activity,
International Federation concerned recognize it for its high and it’s not easy to master. Attention to details is
level of theoretical and/or practical competence, in a parti- important, if not crucial.
cular high-level training center or sports club. High-level
training centers or universities working with Olympic Large responsibilities lie ahead for the National
Solidarity will host its coach scholarship holders. Federations, which must establish and maintain good
The partners used by Olympic Solidarity are training centers relations with their National Olympic Committees in
that FIBA is consistently reviewing and are fully approved. order to have access to all Olympic Solidarity pro-
Discussions on the basketball-specific syllabus, as well as grams. This helps them in funding National Team pro-
the teaching aids to be used, regularly take place. These grams, talent identification camps, coaches’ clinics,
institutions include: coaches’ education, administrative seminars, and
overall development of basketball in their country.
▼ Institut National du Sport et de l’Éducation Physique
(INSEP), Paris - France. Through the Olympic Solidarity programs, resources
▼ Semmelweis University (University of Physical are made available to elevate the sport of basketball.
Education), Budapest - Hungary. Olympic Solidarity programs are excellent opportuni-
▼ Centro de Alto Rendimiento (CAR), Barcelona – Spain. ties given to FIBA and its affiliates to help in achieving
▼ Programme d’Appui International au Sport Africain et des a sustainable basketball management model that
Caraïbes (PAISAC), Montreal – Quebec, Canada. would raise the National Federations technical trai-
▼ Cycle International du Sport d’élite Lausanne (CISéL) – ning level, performance, and participation at interna-
Lausanne - Switzerland. tional competitions.

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BASKETBALL WITHOUT BORDERS

FRIENDSHIP
FUNDAMENTALS
AND EDUCATION

2001
The inaugural “Basketball without
Borders” camp was held in Treviso,
Italy in 2001. The idea was to bring
children from former Yugoslavia and
use the sport of basketball as a
common language for global peace,
friendship, and sportsmanship. Both
FIBA and the NBA wished to pro-
mote goodwill around the world; the
camp was an opportunity to demon-
strate that basketball had a capaci-
ty to bring people together.

The three-day event, for players

from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croa-
tia, Macedonia, Slovenia, and Yu-
goslavia, taught the 14-year-old
players the basics of basketball, but
also included seminars designed to
promote leadership, conflict resolu-
tion, and living a healthy life without
drugs as part of the celebration of
the United Nations International
Day against Drug Abuse (June 26,
2001).

Vlade Divac and Toni Kukoc, natives

of Serbia and Croatia, respectively,
headed a group of nine players, who
conducted basketball camp. Other
players participating in the camp in-
cluded: Zan Tabak, Dalibor Bagaric
and Bruno Sundov (Croatia), Peja
Stojakovic, Dragan Tarlac and Alex
Radojevic (Serbia), Rasho Nes-
terovic (Slovenia), Nenad Markovic

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(Bosnia and Herzegovina), and Vrbica Venice. 50 young participants (10 from 2002
Stefanov (Macedonia). each country, selected according to their The experience of the inaugural
The Benetton Group, that owns the Benet- basketball skills and leadership abilities) camp was transferred into the 2002
ton Treviso basketball club in the Italian were hosted. The young players were as- “Basketball Without Borders” camp
league, was a co-sponsor of the camp signed to four different teams, regardless held in Istanbul, Turkey. In this oc-
that was held at La Ghirada, their basket- of nationality, and then bunked and lived casion, the United Nation Office for
ball facility located an hour north of together with their new teammates. Drug Control and Crime Prevention
joined FIBA and the NBA to build
friendship and cooperation between
young people who love basketball.

The event was held in the Darus-

safaka Ayhan Sports Hall, and 50 14-
year-old children from Greece and
Turkey were present (25 children
from each country). On this occa-
sion, the players who served as
coaches for the camp were Antonis
Fotsis Theodoros Papaloukas and
Dimitris Papanikolau (Greece), Hi-
dayet Turkoglu, Kerem Tunceri, Mir-
sad Turkcan, and Ibrahim Kutluay
(Turkey), and Vladimir Radmanovic
(Serbia).

It was a pleasure to see the Greek

and Turkish National Basketball
Federations working together with
global basketball communities, and,
in addition, the initiative to promote
the concept of international peace,
friendship, and solidarity with spe-
cial emphasis on the fight against
drugs. Basketball proved one more
time that it can teach young people

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BASKETBALL WITHOUT BORDERS

the importance of tolerance and team-

work and served as a bridge between
the young players of Greece and
Turkey.

2003
The response and great enthusiasm of
the invited players and coaches drove
us to further develop this concept to
other continents, starting with Africa
in September 2003. The camp, called
“Africa 100 Camp,” took place in Jo-
hannesburg, South Africa at the Amer-
ican International School of Johannes-
burg. The camp was the first of its kind
to gather the top 100 young players, 16
to 19 years old, from 19 countries
across Africa and it incorporated bas-
ketball instruction into educational
programs and addressed important so-
cial issues. The 2004 European “Basketball with- (Mexico), Dikembe Mutombo (Congo)
The camp was designed to promote, out Borders” was held once again in were present. The primary focus of the
expose, and strengthen the culture of Italy in Treviso at the La Ghirada, and it community outreach was the creation of
basketball among the continent’s featured 50 top young players from 25 a Legacy Project at Vila Olimpica de Jor-
youth and to build a sustainable inter- countries. Jiri Welsch (Czech Repub- nalista Ary de Carvalho. The Legacy Pro-
est in the game. The camp also aimed lic), Gheorghe Muresan (Romania), ject consisted of the creation of a Read-
to fight HIV/AIDS and bring peace to Stanislav Medvedenko, and Vitaly ing & Learning Center and the refurbish-
Africa through the sport of basketball. Potapenko (Ukraine) were among the ment of a basketball court through the
One of the highlights of the camp was players and coaches that the camp help of partners such as Dell. In addition,
a donation of desktop computers, featured. The leading children’s organ- as part of the life skills seminars, as it
printers, servers, and educational soft- ization, UNICEF, conducted an educa- had been done in Treviso, a special pro-
ware from Dell, as part of the Dell Edu- tional seminar on HIV/AIDS prevention gram on HIV/AIDS was held for the
cation Initiative at the Ithuteng Trust, a and education at the camp. campers.
local school for troubled youth.
Players, who served as coaches at the The Americas version was held in “Basketball without Borders” Africa
camp, included Dikembe Mutombo Fortaleza São João, Rio de Janeiro, 2004 was held at the American Interna-
(Congo), Ruben Boumtje-Boumtje Brazil. 50 top players from 17 coun- tional School of Johannesburg, Johan-
(Cameroon), DeSagana Diop and Ma- ties were present. Players and nesburg, South Africa and 100 players
madou N’diaye (Senegal), Olumide coaches such as Leandro Barbosa from 24 countries were present.
Oyedeji (Nigeria), and Michael Curry and Nene (Brazil), Felipe Lopez (Do- Ruben Boumtje Boumtje (Cameroon),
and Bob Lanier (USA). minican Republic), Eduardo Najera Samuel Dalembert (Haiti), DeSagana
The third “Basketball without Borders”
camp held in Europe returned to beau-
tiful La Ghirada, the training facility of
Benetton Treviso, where 50 15- to 17-
year old players from 22 European
countries were present. On this occa-
sion, the camp collaborated with
UNICEF (United Nation’s Children
Fund) to support education and
HIV/Aids prevention programs.
Coaching was provided by Tony Parker
(France), Pau Gasol (Spain), Andrei
Kirilenko (Russia), Bostjan Nahbar
(Slovenia), Nikoloz Tskitishvili (Geor-
gia), and Marko Jaric (Serbia and
Montenegro).

2004
In 2004, “Basketball Without Borders”
was organized on three continents: Eu-
rope, Africa and America.

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Diop (Senegal), and Obinna Ekezie tivities in Bei-

(Nigeria) were among the players pres- jing, and hosted
ent at the camp. a basketball
The primary focus of the community out- clinic spon-
reach was the continuing support of sored by Mc-
Mama Jackey’s Ithuteng Trust for “at Donald’s for 80
risk youth.” Special Olympic
The Legacy Project featured the dedica- athletes at the
tion of the new Dikembe Mutombo Foun- National Sports
dation dormitories, named after player Training Center.
Dikembe Mutombo who, along with the
NBA, funded this project, as well as a The second an-
new basketball court. nual Basketball
without Borders
Americas tipped
off in Buenos
Aires with Ar-
gentinean na-
tives Emanuel
Ginóbili (San
Antonio Spurs),
Carlos Delfino
(Detroit Pis-
tons), and An-
dres Nocioni
(Chicago Bulls)
2005 as headliners
In 2005, following the spirit of the former for the event.
editions, “Basketball without Borders” The top 53 young players (ages 19 and Led by Utah Jazz star forward Andrei
expanded to the Asian continent. under) from more than 20 countries Kirilenko (Russia), and Dirk Nowitzki
across Latin America and the (Germany) of the Dallas Mavericks, the
Led by native player, Yao Ming, star Caribbean took part in basketball in- Basketball Without Borders Europe
center of the Houston Rockets, the first struction and competition and daily was held for the fourth time at La Ghi-
Asian took place at the Olympic Training seminars that promoted education, rada in Treviso, Italy. The event fea-
Facility in Beijing, China. leadership, character, healthy living, tured the top 50 players (ages 19 and
The camp was comprised of the top 51 and HIV/AIDS awareness and preven- under), representing 20 countries from
players (ages 19 and under), represent- tion. across the continent. Joining Kirilenko
ing 15 countries. Joining Yao Ming as Joining Ginóbili, Delfino, and Nocioni and Nowitzki as camp coaches were
camp coaches were San Antonio Spur as camp coaches were Philadelphia Utah Jazz’s Gordan Giricek (Croatia),
76er Samuel Dalembert (Haiti), Hous- Charlotte Bobcats’ Primoz Brezec
To n y P a r k e r ( F r a n c e ) , P h i l a d e l p h i a
ton Rocket Dikembe Mutombo (Con- (Slovenia) and Atlanta Hawks’ Zaza
76ers teammates Samuel Dalembert
go), and Milwaukee Buck Daniel San- Pachulia (Georgia).
(Haiti), and Kyle Korver (USA), and New
tiago (Porto Rico). The focus of the community outreach
Orleans Hornet Bostjan Nachbar
(Slovenia). Community outreach efforts Players visited the UNICEF-sponsored for the 2005 Basketball without Bor-
for the 2005 “Basketball without Bor- Hospital Nacional Prof. Alejandro ders Europe camp was an HIV/AIDS
ders” Asia camp focused on education, Posadas, which is one of the largest education and prevention workshop
grassroots basketball development, public hospitals in Buenos Aires. The presented in partnership with UNICEF
product donation and HIV/AIDS aware- community outreach efforts culminat- to the participating campers.
ness. Players participated in various ed with a visit to Bahia Blanca, the
community outreach programs and ac- hometown of Manu Ginobili. Finally, for the third consecutive year,

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BASKETBALL WITHOUT BORDERS

Basketball without Borders Africa

2005 took place at the American Inter-
national School of Johannesburg,
South Africa. Among others, the pro-
gram was led by Dikembe Mutombo
(Congo), Mamadou N’Diaye (Senegal)
and NBA Legend and Community Am-
bassador, Bob Lanier. Basketball with-
out Borders Africa 2005 brought to-
gether 106 young basketball players
from 28 different African nations.

Our community partner, UNICEF South

Africa, conducted workshops on ado-
lescent health, with a focus on
HIV/AIDS education and prevention.
Community outreach programs includ-
ed visit to SKY Trust, a youth empower-
ment program located in the Kliptown
Township of Soweto, and Moletsane
Sports Complex to promote HIV/AIDS
education and testing. The event in-
cluded drama presentations, personal
testimonials, music, dance, and a
health fair featuring mobile clinics,
booths, and other information displays
on HIV/AIDS prevention. As part of the
event, Reebok offered two refurbished
basketball courts to the City of Johan-
Borders” camps. The African edition Joining Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Arvidas
nesburg and the players conducted a
will take place for the fourth time in a Macijauskas and Darius Songaila as
basketball clinic with local players to
row at the American International camp coaches were fellow country-
encourage them to lead a healthy, ac-
School of Johannesburg, Africa in man Linas Kleiza. Other FIBA/NBA
tive lifestyle through sport. The com-
September 2006. players who took part were Viktor
munity outreach efforts culminated
Khryapa (Russia), Zaza Pachulia
with a return visit to the Ithuteng Trust,
In June 2006, “Basketball without Bor- (Georgia) and Samuel Dalembert
a Youth Empowerment Program found-
ders” Asia was held in Shanghai, China. (Haiti). The camp united more than 50
ed in 1990 by Jackey “Mama Jackey”
Atlanta Hawks Josh Childress (USA), top young basketball players (ages 18
Maarohanye. The powerful and mov-
Toronto Raptors Matt Bonner (USA), and under) from over 25 countries
ing ceremony was held with the
Houston Rockets Richie Frahm (USA), across the continent to take part in
Ithuteng students, actor Chris Tucker,
Portland Trail Blazers basketball instruction and competi-
and the players
Ha Seung-Jin (South tion.
who officially
Korea) and Philadelphia
opened a new
76ers Samuel Dalem- The “Sarunas Marciulionis Basketball
laundry room and
bert (Haiti) participated Academy” in Vilnius, which hosted the
guesthouse for the
as camp coaches. Un- event, was built in 1992 as “The
students of the
fortunately, due to an Sarunas Marciulionis Basketball
Trust.
injury, Yao Ming (China) School”, with its primary purpose to
wasn’t able to partici- train future athletes in fundamental
2006
pate at the camp held in basketball techniques and enhance
In 2006, as per
his native city. The 50 their educational skills. In 2002 the
2005, “Basketball
young players (ages 19 SMB School celebrated its tenth an-
without Borders”
and under) from 14 niversary. On this occasion, FIBA
camps will be held
countries across Asia awarded “Sarunas Marciulionis Bas-
on four continents:
took part in basketball ketball School” the status of Basket-
Americas, Asia, Eu-
instruction and compe- ball Academy for its continued contri-
rope, and Africa.
tition. bution in developing youth basketball
in Lithuania. There are currently 31
By the time of the
This year’s “Basketball groups and 770 boys between the ages
World Congress,
Without Borders” Eu- of seven and 18 attending the Acade-
San Juan, Puerto Rico, Shanghai, Chi-
rope camp was held at the Sarunas my, with 10 coaches and two teachers.
na, and Vilnius, Lithuania will be wel-
Marciulionis Basketball Academy in
coming for the first time their respec-
Vilnius, June 30-July 3 with an All-Star “Basketball without Borders” Americ-
tive continental “Basketball without
Game held in Kaunas. as was held in July 2006 at the Coliseo
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Roberto Clemente in San Juan, Puerto Deng (Sudan), Los Angeles Lakers nent every year—has been attained.
Rico. Joining Carlos Arroyo (Porto Ri- Luke Walton, and Los Angeles Clip- Oceania remains the last region of the
co) player of the Orlando Magic camp pers Vladimir Radmanovic (Serbia and world not to host an event. Over the
coaches were Golden State Warriors Montenegro). The camp will be high- years, the camps have hosted more
center Adonal Foyle (St. Vincent and lighted by extensive community outreach than 700 campers from nearly 90 dif-
the Grenadines), Utah Jazz guard Gor- activities focusing on HIV/AIDS aware- ferent countries, and has had the par-
dan Giricek (Croatia), San Antonio ness, education and grassroots basket- ticipation of nearly 120 FIBA/NBA star
Spurs forward-center Sean Marks ball development. Led by NBA Legend players.
(New Zealand), Orlando Magic for- and Community Ambassador Bob Lanier,
ward Bo Outlaw (USA), former NBA the program includes a return visit to the The aim of promoting goodwill around
player Jerome Williams, and Puerto Ithuteng Trust, a Youth Empowerment the world and using the sport of bas-
Rican native Daniel Santiago. 50 play- Program founded in 1990 by Jackey “Ma- ketball as a common language for
ers from 14 countries across Americas ma Jackey” Maarohanye, in Pimville, global peace, friendship and sports-
took part at the camp. South Africa, where a US Embassy-fund- manship, has been set in place with
ed dining hall will be opened. A new the “Basketball Without Borders”
The African edition will gather an ar- kitchen, dining hall, and bathroom facility camps. The positive message of work-
ray of FIBA/NBA star, including will also be inaugurated at the Soweto ing together, developing leadership
Phoenix Suns Steve Nash (Canada), Kliptown Youth Trust (SKY), where a skills, and living a healthy, drug- and
Denver Nuggets Marcus Camby Learn & Play Center was opened. The alcohol-free lifestyle has been infused
(USA), and Houston Rockets Dikembe event also will feature an AIDS/HIV into the basketball instruction. The
Mutombo (Congo), who has led the awareness event. camps have provided young players
camp since it was first staged in Jo- with the tools necessary to succeed
hannesburg in 2003. Joining Nash, Since the inaugural “Basketball with- both on and off the court, with all par-
Camby and Mutombo will be among out Border” camp held in Treviso, Italy ticipants learning the importance of
others former and current FIBA/NBA in 2001, the objective of organizing hard work, dedication, teamwork, and
player Manute Bol (Sudan), Phoenix “Basketball without Borders” basket- fair play. Through the work of the FI-
Suns Raja Bell (US Virgin Islands), San ball camps—bringing together groups BA/NBA players, this important mes-
Antonio Spurs Bruce Bowen, DJ of young passionate players between sage will be carried to hundreds more
Mbenga (Congo), Chicago Bulls Luol 16 and 19 years of age on each conti- campers in the years to come.
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COMMERCIAL ACTIVITIES

ON AND OFF
THE COURT
As we head towards our 2006 FIBA World Championships, we FIBA we recognize the key role of marketing and compete
also come to the end of the current FIBA cycle. Here is a cleverly to ensure a healthy future for this beautiful game.
review of our achievements of the last years, and a view of We can still be true to our values and avoid over commercia-
the work we have ahead of us. lization. The Disney corporation, for example, remains true to
the original vision of founder Walt Disney and succeeds con-
To put this all into context, we would like to begin by sharing sistently in delivering it to a global audience. We have the
our vision and how our events, TV and other media and com- same goal.
munications channels, together with our marketing partner-
ships, work to achieve our goals. STRATEGY
How do we do we deliver our vision? Maybe we could most
OUR VISION simply express our strategy as "Better events, reaching
To fulfill our role as an international governing body and rea- more people, more often, leveraged through creative marke-
lize our claim, "We are Basketball," FIBA's Championships ting partnerships, building a strong FIBA brand, enabling us
need to inspire new to secure greater long-term revenue".
generations of basket- If we look at each element of our strategy in turn, we can see
ball players and fans and the progress made over the last four years, the challenges
therefore we must deli- we still have to meet, and the steps we are going to take.
ver great events, which
are seen by as many EVENTS
people as possible. From a sporting point of view, we have had a considerable
Through this we will also number of great competitions, and some very good events,
build a strong FIBA and much improvement has been made across many areas.
brand across the world However, consistent quality is our No.1 challenge.
as the foundation for our Our events are the foundation of our strategy, as they can
future success. excite and enthuse the current and future fans of basketball.
If the events are not engaging, we cannot attract spectators,
OUR COMPETITION TV broadcasting companies, and marketing partners.
Today, we live in a world where basketball is competing for
children's hearts and minds, against not just other sports, but Progress has been made in several ways, including:
an enormous array of other activities such as music, cinema, ▼ Good co-operation between the LOC's, FIBA Zones, and
TV, and the Internet. FIBA for all events.
These activities approach their marketing as a business and ▼ Passionate crowds and great atmosphere for some
employ the best marketers and invest substantial budgets to games.
build their brands and sell their "products." Therefore, at ▼ Improved level of entertainment, such as music, dance

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troops, mascots.
▼ Good media services at some events and increasing
media interest. For example, the World Championship in
Japan will exceed a record 1,600 accreditations from 53
countries.
▼ New “Live scoring”.

Our goal is to achieve a consistently high standard of events

with particular attention to the following key factors:
▼ Quality of competition.
▼ High profile through an effective promotional campaign.
▼ Full gyms.
▼ Clear and consistent FIBA branding with a consistent look
for all FIBA events.
▼ A great experience for the fans.

We depend largely on the LOC's to deliver this, and therefo-

re our role at FIBA is to guide and support them and facilita-
te the passing on of best practice and good ideas from one brand, we have introduced FIBA TV graphics for all our
event to another. Events. To maintain coverage year-round, the new FIBA
Events Management will work with each LOC from the sub- World of Basketball TV magazine program is broadcast
mission of their bid through delivery of the event, ensuring weekly in over 40 countries.
the right staffing, good planning, and an effective promotio- ▼ For Eurobasket 2005, fans in countries where our broadcast
nal campaign, as well as coordinating the commercial agreements did not reach could watch the Championship
department's involvement. games via a broadband subscription, and this service will
also be offered for the World Championship.
TV ▼ We have produced a “Road to Japan” DVD, and we have
Television remains the main way that fans can see our begun the process of archiving the video footage of all our
events, which is why we made the key decision two years competitions from 1990.
ago to bring the TV rights operation in house to give us grea- TV rights will remain a major sour-
ter control and better results than working through an exter- ce of income for FIBA and the prin-
nal agency. Through hard and excellent work, expectations cipal way our audience can expe-
have been exceeded in terms of both revenue and the size of rience FIBA events for at least the
audiences reached. Our audiences are now measured by next 10 years. Our events can now
the global agency, Zenith Optimedia, and in 2005 we achie- be seen in most countries across
ved the following cumulative audiences: the world, but we need to increase
▼ For this years Men's World Championship we have broad- the audience sizes so that they
cast agreements covering a record 148 territories and we compare with the events of the
expect a record-breaking audience over 1 billion. other global sports. This requires our events to be more
▼ To ensure a look for the broadcasts consistent with our attractive and better promoted, and
in turn for us to negotiate improved
exposure, which may require us to
sacrifice revenue if an alternative
broadcast deal can bring us a much
greater audience.
We are also making deals with mobi-
le phone operators to show highlight
clips of games to their customers.
Finally, we need to exploit the valuable
still and video images content we have
of our events dating from 1990.

FIBA COM
The website has proven itself to be a
cost-effective platform to communicate
year round with the FIBA and wider
basketball community, and the current
traffic levels compare well with many
Federation sites.
We are investing further to provide richer
content and more features so we appeal
more to the basketball fan, and this sum-
mer we will relaunch FIBA.com with a
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COMMERCIAL ACTIVITIES

new look in line with our brand. vides additional revenue to FIBA and contributes to building our
The quality of some FIBA event web sites has been extremely varia- brand.
ble and therefore we will now provide a standard structure for the
event web sites of each Zone competition, so that there is a consi- We have begun the process of talking with potential new long-term
stent look and quality. partners and initial results have been positive. Indeed, we have
We recognize that the world-wide basketball community speaks already secured a substantial portion of our budgeted revenue for
many different languages and therefore it is our goal to offer 2007-2010.
FIBA.com in other languages, possibly Chinese, Spanish, and
French. We may decide to do this ourselves or in partnership with We may conclude by saying that our success and the value of the
one or more major portals. deals will depend fundamentally on the quality of our events, reach,
and frequency of TV, media and the public relations we generate.
PUBLIC RELATIONS Marketing partners are also demanding more than signage and
We have communicated well with the FIBA family and sports jour- tickets in return for their investment, and we will need to be much
nalists over the past years. However, there is a great opportunity to more creative and work hard to satisfy their needs. Our goal is to
drive substantial additional coverage for FIBA, and most importantly, bring in a number of new partners during the next four years who
for our events. To do this, we will work more closely with both the will also be more active in promoting their involvement, which in turn
LOC's, National Federations, Zones, and media partners. promotes FIBA and further builds our brand.

We then intend to move to a new and more structured approach to

our marketing partners for the 2011-2014 cycle.

BRAND
We took a major step forward when we created a new global brand
logo and identity, which at the same time maintained the individual
identity of each Zone. The look is contemporary and versatile and is
a key step to building our brand. Unfortunately, there are still many
instances of misusing the brand and we must work hard to educate
our friends across the world to use it well as it benefits us all.

However, a logo is just our visual identification, and the current low
awareness of our events and FIBA amongst sports fans means that
our brand still has weaknesses. It will be the improvements we
make to our events, how many people we reach through TV, PR, and
other media, how consistently we communicate, and how this
MARKETING audience responds, which will build a strong FIBA brand.
We took the decision to pool many of the marketing rights globally,
and we have been successful in securing some long-term partners, FIBA will continue to work closely and effectively with LOCs, Zones,
which has provided an important income source for FIBA. As we and National Federations who have a better understanding of their
conclude sales for the FIBA Men's and Women's World markets and can help us to deliver the Vision. FIBA will compete har-
Championships ,we are also achieving our revenue expectations for der than ever to win the hearts and minds of future basketball
this cycle. players, which means taking a long-term view, investing carefully in
marketing our events well. In turn, this will help ensure long-term
commercial prosperity.

We have initiated a Licensing and Merchandising program. We sell

FIBA branded goods through the FIBA store on-line and at many of
our events, and in Japan for the Men's World Championship, we are
currently outselling FIFA World Cup products!

We have also licensed our logos to several companies around the

world to promote various products from caps to guitars!
It is our intention to extend this program substantially because it pro-

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BRANDING

A SLOGAN BECOMES
REALITY
FIBA is not much different in its structure than most of the with its five Zones, was (and still is) a unique approach in
other international sports federations: five continental zone the world of sports.
organizations are administering the sport within their region For the first time in history, an international sports federation
and the National Federations from 212 countries form its mem- has developed a common concept together with its conti-
bership. nental organizations.

THE FIBA BRAND PRE 2003

Before deciding on a unique approach of bundling all forces
and using the synergies of all its constituents, the five Zones
of FIBA were called AFABA (Africa), COPABA (Americas)
ABC (Asia), the Standing Conference of Europe (Europe) and
OBC (Oceania).

Following the green light of the FIBA Central Board in

November 2002, FIBA and its continental organizations have
decided to enter a new era in a global and common effort to
make FIBA more visible in the sports world through a new
brand and the renaming of all five FIBA zones; FIBA Africa,
FIBA Americas, FIBA Asia, FIBA Europe and FIBA Oceania.

World renowned branding experts from Interbrand

Zintzmeyer and Lux in Zürich, assisted FIBA to create the
concept.

The new identity included the FIBA and 5 FIBA Zone logos,
colour schemes and type faces, in an integrated worldwide
concept.
This concept embraces the core elements of our movement:
the ball, the globe and the players.

In spring 2003 FIBA and the FIBA zones developed and laun-
ched the new FIBA brand identity. BRINGING THE BRAND TO LIFE AN ONGOING CHALLENGE
FIBA's aim is to create a brand identity to support its posi-
THE FIBA BRAND POST 2003 tioning and bring the brand to life. It goes far beyond the
The result was this brand new look where the ball and simple use of a logo on letterhead and business cards.
seams represent both our sport and its global appeal, while Creating and maintaining brand image has become a huge
the five hands represent the five continents united within the challenge. In co-operation with the Zones, we try to keep a
FIBA Family as well as the 450 million worldwide players universal appearance and adhere strictly to our global mes-
who from the basketball community. sage.

The colorful branding system and the tagline "We are basketball" In order to make the new brand visible on all FIBA and FIBA
mirrors the passion and diverse cultures that characterize our Zone communication and main competitions, an online style
global movement and basketball around the world. guide has been developed.
The website http://www.fibaidentity.net is the digital brand
The launch of FIBA's new corporate identity in co-operation management platform for the FIBA community, and aims to
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BRANDING

provide an introductory overview of the key elements within

the new FIBA brand. This website provides a brief overview
of the new FIBA and FIBA Zone logos and logo usage,
colors, and typefaces. In a password-secure resource cen-
ter, FIBA's membership can download logos in multiple for-
mats, colors and sizes as downloadable files.

Production templates for stationery, the specifically desi-

gned FIBA typeface are also available for download.

EVENT APPLICATIONS
One of the most important applications is the use of the
brand during our events. There is no better occasion to pre-
sent our visual identity to the fans, the media, and athletes
than during our competitions.

Through television and print media, we have the possibility

to reach a huge audience. Following a standardized naming
system for all our competitions, a consolidated event logo
system has been established.

PRINT MATERIAL AND WEBSITES

Interbrand Zintzmeyer and Lux have also created templates
for FIBA's print publications, the FIBA Assist newsletter
and the FIBA Assist Magazine. The guidelines for FIBA
Print communication, including the recommendation for the
use of typeface, can also be found on the online style
guide.
The Websites of FIBA and the FIBA Zones are strongly
branded. The modular system of the logo determines the
The logo is now used on the court, player uniforms, backdrops,
layout of those websites and gives users the feel that they
flags, print material, and television graphics. The following pic-
are in the same family, no matter which regional website
tures show some exemplary implementations of this strategy.
they are visiting.

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THE LOGO VARIATIONS

The modular system of the FIBA logo
allows a very pragmatic approach to the
use of composite logos.

The use of the FIBA logo with logos from

partners and sponsors has become
systematic and allows us to maintain
identity of the brand.

The following examples illustrate the

implementation of this strategy. FIBA
requires an identity that must stand out
in a highly competitive and crowded
marketplace.
A flexible, yet structured brand system
plays an important role across FIBA and
its zones as well as its competitions. A clear, recognizable and
unifying brand is needed to promote a clear brand.

Enjoy with us the rich, emotional, and colorful FIBA World of

Basketball wherever you are and use the FIBA and FIBA Zone
logos as often as possible. Basketball is a universal language.
FIBA is basketball!

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FIBA.COM

THE POWER OF INTERNET

The first FIBA.com was launched in 1996 and it was a very
basic reproduction of our results database.

At that time, the power of the World Wide Web and the
benefits it could provide to the fans, the media, and the
basketball family was still uncertain.

Other than pure results, no text files were offered, not to

speak about images or video. However, FIBA was one of the
first International Sports Federations that had a presence
on the World Wide Web.

In 1998, the site was re-launched and was heavily based on

information with a news section and an event section that
included detailed statistics.

A decade has passed since the first version of FIBA.com

debuted and the whole industry has changed. The techni-
cal development and audience developed so fast that FIBA
decided to take a very active role to further evaluate this
unique communication tool that allows a direct link to the
fans of the game and at the same time creates an archive
of its assets and a tool for the professionals, such as the
media, coaches, referees, and managers of the sport.

It comes as no surprise that the one of the core mission sta-

tements proposed in the 2002 stated, "The FIBA website will
become the world's most popular and highest visited
basketball website".

MORE EMOTION - LESS INFORMATION

In 2003, FIBA made the strategic decision to focus more
on the fans and the younger audience on FIBA.com and
therefore cover basketball with a more journalistic rather
than an institutional approach. That implied a move from
"information" to the direction of "emotion." FIBA hired the
services of Press Association, a national news agency
based in England that covers all basketball activity around
the world. The design of the 2003 version was revamped.
Flash animation was used for the first time. Besides a
strong display of still images, the first video content was
offered. Fans could follow the 2004 Olympic draw in
Madrid and the 2004 Diamond Ball tournament live.
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COOPERATION WITH THE ZONES

In 1996, only a handful of National Federations
had a web presence. FIBA Zones did not have
any. In 2006, over 100 national member federa-
tions and all five FIBA Zones have their own
website.

The strong and common brand of FIBA and its

five Zones also made it possible to create a
unique "family feel" between FIBA.com and the
Zone website.

While FIBA Europe had the expertise in house,

FIBA was actively assisting in the re-design of
FIBAAFRICA.com, FIBAAMERICAS.com, and
FIBAOCEANIA.com. Africa and Americas offer
bilingual websites.

Whenever useful and possible, FIBA and its

Zones offer cross links and share content.

National Federations are entitled and encou-

raged to use FIBA.com material, which may be
translated into their respective language.

TRAFFIC AND GLOBAL REACH ▼ Maximum peak in number of visitors: 495.000 (August during
Although FIBA might still be on its way to reach the goal formu- Athens Olympic Games).
lated in the scorecards, the traffic and global reach of FIBA.com 2005
has improved dramatically in the past four years. ▼ Average number of unique visitors per month: 117.600.
▼ Average number of visits per month: 399.000.
Below the main figures: ▼ Average number of page view per month: 2.800.000 maxi-
2004 mum peak in number of visitors: 250.000 (September during
▼ Average number of unique visitors per month: 101.400. EuroBasket).
▼ Average number of visits per month: 220.300. Total visitors 2004: 1.216.831
▼ Average number of page view per month: 2.613.000. Total visitors 2005: 1.425.455

EVENT WEBSITE
FIBA currently runs the only official event web-
site for the FIBA World Championship in Japan.
For the first time, FIBA will offer a multi-langua-
ge website, including English, Japanese,
Spanish, and Chinese. This strategic decision
has been made in cooperation with the Local
Organizing Committee in Japan and was aimed
at attracting a huge fan base, which has its peak
interest during the World Championship. In 2002,
the event website of the FIBA World
Championship attracted over 1.9 million single
unique visitors, a figure which FIBA predicts to
be at least double in 2006.

FIBA2006.com will offer unparalleled coverage

of FIBA's prime event: four journalists will be at
the site to provide stories from the games and
from behind the scenes. Daily video highlights
will be available, as well as the traditional live
statistics from each game. The in-depth covera-
ge will be complemented with a huge photo
database, which will also be available for sale. A
big effort has been made to offer more interacti-
ve content for the fans, including online games
and celebrity blogs.

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FIBA.COM

DAILY NEWS
Over the past two years,
FIBA has created a huge
fan base with a daily
news service that is sent
out by e-mail.

This news service pre-

sents all news and featu-
res to the subscriber. It
also enables easy access
to the vast content of
FIBA.com.

Subscription is free and is

used by the mass media
around the world. It is
FIBA's news agency ser-
vice.

SPECIAL FEATURES ▼ The FIBA Ranking was established and

Over the past two years a variety of special lists all member federations of FIBA
features have been introduced on fiba.com, according to their results with their natio-
which were mainly directed to the fans. nal teams in the main official FIBA com-
petitions.
▼ The FIBA Challenge, a quiz with over 1000
basketball related questions. Yearly ▼ The FIBA Media Guide with a huge data-
draws for a huge number of basketball base of contact details for member fede-
passionates around the world, determi- rations and media was placed online to
ning the “best basketball fan” in the ease access for users.
world.
▼ The FIBA Buzzer enables the subscriber
▼ The FIBA World Basketball online draw to receive hot news on their desktop;
was launched in early 2006, in coordina- especially useful during events for latest
tion with the launch of the TV program. results. FIBA provided results from the
The draw offers weekly prizes while Athens Olympics as well as from the
every participant is entitled to participate Zone championships.
for the grand prize which is a full trip for
two people to the FIBA World ▼ The FIBA Fan Zone offers wallpapers,
Championship finals. photo galleries, polls, off the court news,
and interview with basketball players.

NEXT STEPS
We will try to enlarge our audien-
ce in close cooperation with our
Zones and members and truly
reflect our tagline 'We are basket-
ball."

The new version of FIBA.com,

which should be launched in
autumn 2006, will allow all world
basketball members (officials,
coaches, players, and fans) to
build and interact in a real basket-
ball community.

Interactive and dedicated content,

multilingual versions, forums,
blogs, enlarged videos, and exclu-
sive games will all be offered.

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PUBLICATIONS

PRINT IS STILL IMPORTANT

In today's world of online-communication, e- ced publication, the joy of reading may be big- brand guidelines in co-operation with all FIBA
newsletters and the Internet, most companies ger, and photos, logos and general design have Zones, the print publications became an impor-
use these new technologies for their external a much stronger impact. Even if the reach of tant platform for the implementation of the new
and internal communication. It is fast, efficient the internet is constantly increasing, the big FIBA and FIBA Zone logos. Our agency develo-
and cost saving. So why bother with print publi- majority of the world's population is still exclu- ped a specific template for our regular publica-
cations and the heavy production and mailing ded. A print publication allows us to remain in tions, which is followed scrupulously. From the-
costs, which go with it? Nowadays, everybody contact with the media and the subscribers. It re on, FIBA has decided to continue to produce
is flooded with e-newsletters and e-mails every is often the only way to find out if there have usual and special print publications and mail it
day, in some cases they don't even reach the been changes in address and contact persons. to its membership and the media. The following
target, as more and more companies use spam This helps also to keep our database of addres- publications are only a small sample of what is
filters, which stop e-mails. With a well produ- ses up to date. After FIBA has finalized the new regularly produced.

ASSIST NEWSLETTER
The FIBA Assist Newsletter was created in 2000 and replaced the bi- information on four pages, but as it is sent by mail to all 212 national fe-
annual FIBA Bulletin. It is a bi-monthly, full color publication which up- derations, to over 1.500 media contacts of FIBA and to all sponsors
dates the basketball community on upcoming event, major decision of and partners, the distribution becomes a major cost factor. In addition
FIBA meetings, news from the Zones, business news, directory chan- the newsletter is sent as PDF file by e-mail and is placed on FIBA.com
ges and event & meeting calendar. It is very difficult to fit such vast for download.

ASSIST MAGAZINE
The FIBA Assist Magazine was created in 2003 and was initially a tially with technical advice for coaches of all age categories, and
pure development tool. for referees and administrators. A detailed summary is presented
Among different topics that are raised, its content deals essen- further in this report.
FIBA ASSIST MAGAZINE FOR BASKETBALL ENTHUSIASTS EVERYWHERE NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2005
ASSIST17

dirk bauermann
GERMANY'S game plan
PANAGIOTIS GIANNAKIS
PEDRO FERRÁNDIZ

EUROBASKET
EDUCATIONAL PROFESSIONALISM
alan richardson
MENTAL SKILLS FOR REFEREES,
MENTORS AND INSTRUCTORS
Emir Turam
turkey: A MODERN
SPORTS CONCEPT CHAMPION
OFFENSE
ELIzABETH HUNTER
ANTI-DOPING:
IT'S A GLOBAL CAMPAIGN

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21_040_042 27-07-2006 21:34 Pagina 41

Besides being a valuable reference for the experts of the game, FIBA (“One on One”), news from around the world (“Planet Basketball”)
has included since 2006 a news section with exclusive interviews and odd and funny stories (“Off the Court”).

SPECIAL PUBLICATIONS
For specific events or at extraordinary occasions, FIBA publishes spe- tion of all results from official FIBA and FIBA Zone competitions form
cial publications. In 2002 FIBA produced“Celebrate Good Times” on 1932 - 2001. In 2004 the “Dream Games” edition paid a wonderful tribu-
the occasion of the 70-year celebrations of FIBA. That same year, the te to the athletes, the organizers and all others, who helped to make the
“FIBA Results Book” was updated and contained a complete collec- Athens Olympic Basketball Tournaments an unforgettable success.

In co-operation with the Local Organising Committees of the FIBA event, souvenir programs were produced for every single FIBA and
FIBA Zone event.

FIBA ASSIST MAGAZINE | 21 2006 | PAGE 41

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PUBLICATIONS

ZONE PUBLICATIONS
FIBA Africa did a wonderful job in producing the African ver- Magazine. Especially in a region, where the internet is not
sion of the FIBA Assist Newsletter and of the FIBA Assist widely spread, print publications remains very important.

FIBA Americas started in 2006 to publish the FIBA Americas Magazine which is published every two months. It shall include
information regarding FIBA, FIBA AMERICAS competitions, local tournaments, basketball development, coaches, and refe-
rees.

FIBA Europe has published a Youth Yearbook 2004, a FIBA Eu- cal information, and results. They focused on the most impor-
rope Register 2005 and a EuroBasket 2005 Media Guide. tant element of our sport - the players.
All these publications contained player biographies, statisti-

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ASSIST MAGAZINE

FOR IMPROVING
AT EVERY LEVEL
In order to share the best experiences and tinually capture and convey the spirit of The content of the magazine:
regularly update innovations, FIBA started basketball.
in 2003 FIBA Assist magazine. In launching The content is geared at providing the ▼ Coaching - for all age levels and all
this publication, we have taken on the right mix of information. Knowledgeable competitive levels.
challenge of producing a magazine that sources within the basketball community ▼ Refereeing and game administration-
will assist in the further development of provide technical aspects, ranging from including scorers table officials and
the sport of basketball. mini-basketball all the way up to the top game commissioners.
senior competition, from sports medicine, ▼ Psychology and motivation.
The bi-monthly magazine is intended to be teaching aides, and the regulation and ▼ Medicine.
a concise vehicle of communication with officiating of the sport to basketball facili- ▼ Conditioning and physiotherapy.
an emphasis on the teaching of basketball ties to managing basketball federations. ▼ Marketing.
together with a study of all the other com- We also provide coverage of event mana- ▼ Administration.
ponents found in today's basketball envi- gement and the marketing side of the ▼ Event Management and analysis of
ronment. Our primary responsibility is to sport. The key words are education and past continental and world events.
reach an editorial sensibility that will con- training. ▼ Presentation of Coaches Associations.

FIBA ASSIST MAGAZINE | 21 2006 | PAGE 43

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ASSIST MAGAZINE

▼ Presentation of the FIBA Zones, issues. We hope that this bi-monthly FIBA Assist is our promotional tool and a
National Federations, and Leagues in magazine, which is also available for vehicle for exchange of information, new
various countries. download on our website and as a CD ideas, and trends in the coaching field and
▼ Equipment and construction of faci- Rom, will be of assistance to all those who elsewhere.
lities. have been responsible for the tremendous
▼ Mini-basketball and School basket- progress of global basketball in the recent Twenty issue later we hope to have achie-
ball. years: coaches, teachers, doctors, trai- ved these aims that we could not reach
ners, referees, administrators, and mana- without the great support of all our
These main fields may be supplemented gers. Simply, all the people who assure the authors around the world, the real back-
by special areas of interest in some development of our sport. bone of our magazine.

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PHOTO ARCHIVE

MAGIC MOMENTS
There is the never-ending argument In the framework of cooperation, FIBA has
between still photography and television. hired AFP photographers for all its World
Which medium offers the greatest creative Championships and Continental
talent and has the most impact on the pu- Championships since 2002.
blic: still images or television images? For Photos are available almo-
the most part, this rivalry is useless and un- st immediately after the
necessary. While everybody would agree games and this has
that television is by far the most powerful enormously hel-
medium, and that it can reach the majority ped with the
of the world's population, what would our steady stream
mornings be without a newspaper or a ma- of illustrations
gazine, where we can relive the magic mo- for FIBA.com.
ments of the event seen the night before on FIBA did not
television? What would be the moment of only hire the
joy and drama if we didn't have glossy pic- AFP photo-
tures, which help decrease the distance
between fan and athlete?

Still images help us keep the magic mo-

ments of a sports event and they can beco-
me a long-lasting souvenir of memorable
actions on and off the court.
The build-up and maintenance of a photo
archive is an ever-lasting headache for mo-
st sports federations. The fast technological
development and the various formats such
as print photos, slides, and digital images
have not made the job easier.

In 2001, FIBA began a relationship with the

photo department of Agence France Press
(AFP). As one of the leading news agencies,
AFP has a network
of photographers and news
desks in all re-
gions of the
world.
21_045_046_Photo Archive.qxd 27-07-2006 21:35 Pagina 46

PHOTO ARCHIVE

graphy services. It also used the web-ba-

sed infrastructure of the AFP website to
build up its own image archive
(http://www.imageforum2.afp.com).

Since 2001, 22,000 images have been sto-

red on this site. The archive offers a detai-
led search tool, which allows searches for
specific players, countries, or events. The
website is available to the five FIBA Zones
and everybody is able to use the archive for
its own purposes.

In addition to AFP, FIBA has also entered in-

to agreements with various freelance pho-
tographers over the past years. Most of the
images from these photographers are sto-
red on a specific database on FIBA ser-
vers.

Moreover, 10,000 print photos and slides

from FIBA's old archive dating back to 1932
have been transformed into digital files and THE FUTURE FIBA membership and fans.
have been archived in the past years. The The challenge for the coming years will be In June 2006, FIBA entered into an agree-
project, which was led by FIBA treasurer, to consolidate the existing archives within ment with the Swiss-based company
Manfred Ströher, was recently completed. FIBA and AFP and make it accessible to the g.storia for the buildup of a consolidated
and accessible photo archi-
ve based on web techno-
logy. This will allow the com-
mercial exploitation of exi-
sting and future still images.

The scope of the project was

a turnkey solution for FIBA,
where FIBA would not have
to deal with the archiving of
its photos directly. In partner-
ship with g.storia, a swiss ba-
sed Internet development
company, the project inclu-
des the possibility for fans to
buy photos as prints.

Any photo can be ordered

on a fan website on
FIBA.com in various for-
mats, including poster size.
Another huge asset of the
project will be that FIBA
Zones and National Fede-
rations can have direct ac-
cess to the FIBA photo ar-
chive with a password for a
dedicated website.

The 2006 FIBA World

Championship in Japan will
see the inauguration of this
project, but the goal will be
to establish a long-term
strategy, which includes
the 2010 FIBA World Cham-
pionships.

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NEW APPLICATIONS

THE LATEST
TECHNOLOGY
PROJECT VISION
In 1998 FIBA`s Information Technology
(IT) Department started with the deve-
lopment of a database, which shall
serve as a repository of official data
for FIBA and the 5 FIBA Zones. The aim
was to offer a tool which enables us to
collect and share information in the
FIBA Family.

All staff of FIBA and FIBA Zone offi-

ces shall be able to connect to a
common database in order to view
or update official data such as:
▼ Player information.
▼ Game results.
▼ Team and Player statistics.
▼ Officials information.
▼ Nominations of Referees and
Commissioners.
▼ Doping information.

The usage of a common system

shall ensure that FIBA regulations Competition Management
are respected during the daily admi-
nistrative work.

STATUS 2006
After approximately 3 years of develop-
ment, this software, called FIBA New
Application (FNA), has become opera-
tional.
It is now a core system at FIBA, FIBA
Europe, FIBA Africa and FIBA Americas
and has recently been implemented at
FIBA Oceania and FIBA Asia.
▼ 38.464 Games.
▼ 20.372 Games with complete sta-
tistics (players and teams).
▼ 1.256 Official Competitions.
▼ 54.676 Players.
▼ 174.013 Player licenses.
▼ 9.364 Pictures of players and
officials.
▼ 10.923 Persons contacts.
▼ 8.225 Organizations contacts.
▼ 4.169 Officials (referees and
commissioners).
▼ 58.233 Nominations of officials.
Doping Management
▼ 13.219 Invoices.

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NEW APPLICATIONS

OUTPUT LICENSE CARDS

OUTPUT WEBSITES
The FNA is used for displaying information on FIBA.com, FIBAEurope.com and FIBAAmericas.com
Mainly these websites focus on the display of competition, game data and player’s statistics in their championship sections.
Once information has been entered in the FNA, these websites are updated automatically.

fiba.com fibaamericas.com

fibaeurope.com

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OUTPUT MEDIA GUIDE

FIBA.com furthermore provides the FIBA Media Guide and the FIBA Directory which is automatically generated and updated every 24
hours by the FNA database. They are also available as up-to-date PDF files.

FUTURE
The FNA underlies constant changes as
it strictly follows the official FIBA regu-
lations. This implies that changes in the
rules automatically require an update of
the software.
From the beginning of the operation until
2006, we implemented more than 2.000
change requests coming from FNA
users. A change request system has
been developed in order to track the
process and status of each request.
FIBA is in charge of the software main-
tenance and takes over all develop-
ments costs.

Currently we are looking into developing

a web interface which will facilitate the
accessibility for traveling staff.
The integration of all data coming from
FIBA Organizer is scheduled in a middle-
term. Consequently, the basketball world
on all levels will grow together in terms
of data sharing. This will certainly help
improving the quality of our daily admini-
strative tasks.

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DATA SYSTEM - TOOL FOR FUTURE EVENTS

INFORMATION IN
A SECOND
Together with the LOC (Local Organizing Committee) of the own IT solution starting from scratch. FIBA has decided to
FIBA Basketball World Championship 2006, FIBA has prepa- use a unified and standardized data system for all its future
red, during the past months, the data system that will be events.
used in all five venues during the entire event in Japan.
The advantages of such an approach are numerous: a com-
Accreditations, schedules, results, statistics, printouts, data plete, cost-efficient and smooth technology transfer from
feed for TV, Internet, and telephone providers are core ele- one event to another, and a standardized data output for all
ments of event management and must be supplied by an IT FIBA events that guarantees a look and feel of the event in
system. line with FIBA's branding concept. Furthermore, improve-
ment on different fields such as management and promotion
As previous LOCs could not rely on the experience of pre- of the event, marketing, and quality of related data services
vious organizers and events, most of them developed their is guaranteed.

CORE COMPONENTS OF AN IT SYSTEM FOR BASKETBALL

The Accreditation System
The Event Accreditation System relates to the required technology that manages and produces the various accreditations.
This goes from online registration of journalists with validation at several locations (usually FIBA's and the LOC's offices), to
printing the accreditation at the venue's office. Each venue will have an accreditation office where journalists and other
accredited persons may pick up their access permission to restricted zones in the arena.

Accreditation Pass – Sample from Eurobasket 2005

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The Event Information System

The Event Information System shall ensu-
re that competition related information,
results, statistics, and rankings are
gathered and distributed to the various
media (TV, commentators, journalists,
and Internet sites) in a timely, efficient,
and reliable way.

The Event Information System includes

the following elements:
Scouting (statistics) - Local scouters will
be operating the input devices such as
notebooks or handheld devices (see
photo) in order to enter every action
occurring on the court.

This game data will be handed over to

the team delegates directly after each
game, transferred automatically to FIBA TV Graphics
central database (FNA), be visible on
SECURITY
FIBA.com's archive, displayed on the
AND RELIABILITY
Internet's live statistics, and displayed
The public reception of
on the CIS monitors.
big sports events may
The Commentators Information System
attract hackers and
(CIS) consists of a touch screen compu-
encourage them to break
ter, which is fed and provides all impor-
into the system or the
tant statistics of the teams and players to
event website.
accredited commentators.
Therefore, security must
not be underestimated
and appropriate efforts
and means have to be
applied.

System breakdown has

to be prevented.
Proper backup has to be
in place.
TV Graphics - The host broadcaster
All Statistical Data output conform to the ORIS Delay or loss of data flow is not accep-
will receive the same live information
standards, which have been defined in colla- table.
and can include it to his signal. The
boration between FIBA and the IOC.
data is directly fed into the TV
COOPERATION BETWEEN FIBA AND THE LOC
graphics system, which allows the
THE CHALLENGE For the FIBA Basketball World Championship
directors of the TV production to
Basketball is one of the fastest team sports 2006, FIBA shares responsibility with the
display live game data during the
with a large amount of data collected in a Japanese LOC in such a way that the LOC
broadcast of the game.
short time. The sport requires a system provides the local area network, Internet
that helps making decisions easily connectivity, volunteer scouters, and runners
▼ Video Screen - Game data can be
(Example: After having entered a missed who distribute printouts and computers for
displayed on a video screen, cube,
shot, the software automatically asks for the journalists work center.
etc.
the rebounder's uniform number instead of
▼ Printing - Different standard
having the scouter select the action FIBA will be responsible for the entire
reports can be printed and uploa-
"rebound"). In case a scouter has inserted Event Information System as described
ded as PDFs on the event website.
an error, it is easy to correct by the scou- above.
These reports are customizable so
ter or an operator.
sponsor logos can be inserted.
FIBA ASSIST MAGAZINE | 21 2006 | PAGE 51
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ORGANIZER

all your data

in one basket
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY new efficiencies in management by WHATIS FIBA ORGANIZER?
The FIBA Organizer project was initia- eliminating double handling of infor- ROLE
ted to complement FIBA New Applica- mation, as the slogan says: “All your Essentially FIBA Organizer is a com-
tions (FNA) - the Information Techno- data in one basket!” prehensive competition and membership
logy platform that is managing tourna- It is these efficiencies that make this administration system. Its role is to facili-
ments at World level and major Regio- system of such value to administra- tate these common processes for admini-
nal events - by extending this system tors, and it is because it is value to ad- strators. Most of the data in FIBA Organi-
to beyond official FIBA Tournaments ministrators, that it is then valuable for zer can be transferred to and from various
to create a direct link from the players NFs, Zones and FIBA. other applications, so it is also FIBA Orga-
at grassroots, through their National nizer’s role to be flexible enough to facili-
Federations (NF) & Regional Entities ENHANCE THE FIBA ONLINE COMMUNITY tate this transfer. For example, administra-
to FIBA. Due to the success of the The online tools available to both lea- tors who have existing sophisticated
SportingPulse (a Melbourne-based IT gues and their communities create a scheduling or live stats applications can
company, suppliers of FIBA Organizer) valuable medium that will not only import schedules and game stats at the
system in the Oceania region, FIBA enhance communication for everyone, click of a button in the same way that they
have adopted this solution to provide but also empower leagues with a com- can import bulk member records from
these users with this administration mercial asset that will attract sponsor- other databases. As well as accepting
software. ship and generate valuable revenue to transferred data, FIBA Organizer also
assist them to operate more effecti- sends data like schedules, statistics and
The FIBA Organizer project has been vely. standings for display online, or export of
planned in 3 phases: bulk data into FNA.
1. System setup. UNIFICATION OF THE SPORT FIBA Organizer is used traditionally by
2. Distribution. OF BASKETBALL Competition Administrators. This can be
3. Localization. A bi-product of the project is that it anyone from NF or professional/semi pro-
will create a common valuable skill set fessional league level right down to dome-
HIGH LEVEL OBJECTIVES that administrators will be able to take stic level.
GLOBAL DATABASE with them when they move within the
Ultimately, the wide use of FIBA Or- FIBA community. WHATDOES ITDO?
ganizer can provide FIBA with an ac- Cross-training and support within the All your data in one basket! FIBA Organi-
curate and current account of how community will help unify the sport zer handles every facet of your competi-
many basketball players, coaches, world-wide by using world class tools tion from player transfers to complex tour-
and referees exist in each region of that are FIBA approved. NFs can choo- nament scheduling, career statistics and
the world, as well as how they are se to use these tools to also develop flexible reporting. The application is fully
performing. the game within their country. customisable to ensure it can meet your
Whilst nothing on this scale has been needs, and has been used and proven at
attempted before in the world of CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT all levels of competition from basic club
sports, there is a high level of confi- To ensure the long-term strength of level through to semi-professional and
dence in the success of this project the project, a Continuous Improvement professional leagues.Below are samples
as the system that FIBA Organizer is (CI) philosophy is in place. of screenshots from FIBA Organizer
based upon has successfully evolved A vital medium and opportunity to im-
through 6 years of intense use in the prove the system is available not only BENEFITS TO THE GAME
same market, and succeeded where through the support channels, but also ▼ NFs and all administrators have more
its competitors have failed. at the workshops. Here the users see time to develop the game in their re-
the system for the first time and sug- gion as a result of time savings gene-
PROVISION OF TOOLS FOR NFS gest ways to improve the software, rated by FIBA Organizer.
AND LEAGUES the workshop itself, related documen- ▼ Administrators, coaches, players, sup-
The key to the success of the project tation and internal support systems, porters all have immediate access to
is that all NFs receive a free copy of which ultimately adds more value for information that was previously unob-
FIBA Organizer which will help them all stakeholders. tainable or in many cases not even re-
administer their leagues and tourna- The workshops also minimises the ti- corded.
ments. me and effort required to elevate ▼ Improved communication at all levels
This software saves significant time users from beginner to expert user and regions of the game.
for administrators through creating status. ▼ More professionally run competitions.
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SCHEDULES
Full Tournament and Round Robin Scheduling, including customised structures and mid-season re-grading. Easy drag and drop interface.

STATISTICS
Full player/team game, round, season, career, historical statistics. All competition information is displayed on your website
at the click of a button. This websites are included in the FIBA Organizer project and do not require computer skills to be
maintained.

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ORGANIZER

CUSTOM STANDINGS
Standings are fully customisable. Select the fields that you wish to use, and sort by.

TRACKING OF MEMBERSHIP FOR PLAYERS, COACHES, OFFICIALS AND EVEN VOLUNTEERS

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TRAINING WORKSHOPS UPDATE Auckland, New Zealand, Oceania ▼ Federation Libanaise de Basketball.
Workshops are to both train the users and October 1-3, 2005 ▼ Iraqi Basketball Federation.
also used as a valuable medium for the CI ▼ American Samoa Basketball Associa- ▼ Jordan Basketball Federation.
facet of the project. tion. ▼ Qatar Basketball Federation.
▼ Australian Basketball Federation Inc. ▼ Syrian Basketball Federation.
The workshops are the coalface where ▼ Basketball Association of the
the users meet the system, a great op- Northern Mariana Islands. Buenos Aires, Argentina, Americas
portunity to get feedback and better ▼ Basketball Federation of Papua New February 23-25, 2006
understand the needs of the common Guinea. ▼ Confederación Argentina de Ba-
user. ▼ Basketball New Zealand. squetbol.
▼ Cook Islands Basketball Association. ▼ Confederaçao Brasileira de Basket-
WORKSHOPS SO FAR ▼ Federated States of Micronesia Ba- ball.
Algiers, Algeria, Africa sketball Association. ▼ Federación Boliviana de Basquetbol.
August 21-23, 2005 ▼ Fiji Amateur Basketball Federation. ▼ Federación de Basquetbol de Chile.
▼ Cote D'ivoire Basketball Federation. ▼ Guam Basketball Confederation. ▼ Federación Ecuatoriana de Basquet-
▼ Federacao Angolana de Basquete- ▼ Kiribati Basketball Association. bol.
bol. ▼ Palau Basketball Federation. ▼ Federación Peruana de Basketball.
▼ Federação Moçambicana de Basque- ▼ Region Federale de Nouvelle Caledo- ▼ Confederación Paraguaya de Ba-
tebol. nie de Basketball. squetbol.
▼ Federation Algerienne de Basket-Ball. ▼ Rep. of the Marshall Islands Basket- ▼ Federación Venezolana de Balonce-
▼ Federation Centrafricaine de Basket- ball Federation Inc. sto.
ball. ▼ Samoa Basketball Association. ▼ Federación Uruguaya de Básquetbol.
▼ Federation Gabonaise de Basket-Ball. ▼ Solomon Islands Amateur Basketball
▼ Federation Malienne de Basketball. Federation. Mexico City, Mexico, Americas
▼ Federation Nigerienne de Basket-Ball. ▼ Vanuatu Amateur Basketball Fede- March 2-4, 2006
▼ Federation Royale Marocaine de Ba- ration. ▼ Federación Cubana de Baloncesto.
sket-Ball. ▼ Federación Mexicana de Basquetbol.
▼ Federation Senegalaise de Basket- Beirut, Lebanon, Asia ▼ Federación de Baloncesto de Puerto
Ball. November 27-29, 2005 Rico.
▼ Federation Togolaise de Basket-Ball. ▼ Basketball Federation Islamic Repu- ▼ Federación Salvadoreña de Balon-
▼ Kenya Basketball Association. blic of Iran. cesto.
FIBA ASSIST MAGAZINE | 21 2006 | PAGE 55
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ORGANIZER

▼ Federación Costarricense de Balon- LOCALIZATION portals, website development, adverti-

cesto Aficionado. In the near future, FIBA will release Spa- sing and sponsorship opportunities, and
▼ Federación Nicaraguense de Balon- nish and French versions of FIBA Organi- e-business and membership services.
cesto. zer. SportingPulse is 100% Australian ow-
▼ Federación Dominicana de Baloncesto. ned, with its head office being in Mel-
▼ Federación Nacional de Baloncesto GAME STATS IMPORT bourne.
de Honduras. Leagues that use Live Stats programs
will be able to import game stats at the SPORTING RELATIONSHIPS
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Asia click of a button, saving valuable data Below is small sample of current Spor-
April 11-13, 2006 entry time. tingPulse clients:
▼ Association de Basketball Vietnam. ▼ FIBA – database and competition
▼ Basketball Association of Singapore. SCHEDULE IMPORT management solution to 212 member
▼ Basketball Association of the Philip- Leagues that use complex scheduling countries.
pines. applications will be able to import a com- ▼ Oceania National Olympic Committee
▼ Cambodia Basketball Federation. petition schedule into FIBA Organizer at – International Database of partici-
▼ Indonesian Basketball Association. the click of a button. pants, coaches and officials to 23
▼ Malaysia Basketball Association. member countries. Competition ma-
▼ Plus 9 Malaysian states. FIBA ORGANIZER MEMBERSHIP ONLINE nagement solution available at all le-
DATABASE UPGRADE vels, from grass-roots to International
FUTURE WORKSHOPS In the next few months, FIBA Organizer Events (see www.oceaniasport.com).
▼ Delhi, India, Asia, date not set. users will be upgraded to version 6, whi- ▼ Australian Rugby League Founda-
▼ Caribbean, Americas, date not set. ch will result in a major upgrade of the FI- tion - consisting of competition ma-
BA Organizer Membership online data- nagement, web, e-commerce, na-
POSITIVE RESULTS AND PROGRESS base. FIBA Organizer Membership V4 co- tional database and the initiation of
Whilst Phase 3 of the project has yet to mes with the following improvements: the ARLF unique ID for members
be completed, there have already been ▼ More control over data. (see www.leaguenet.com.au and
some pleasing results visible on the fede- ▼ Better privacy features. www.arlfoundation.com.au).
rations new websites. The following or- ▼ Extended functionality at all levels.
ganisations are a sample of some of the ▼ More streamlined ‘synchronise’ pro- EVENT AND TOURNAMENT FOCUSED
success stories early on in the project: cess to save more time for NFs. SportingPulse have solutions for tourna-
▼ Cook Islands Basketball Association ments, events, and multi sport games fe-
http://cok.fibaorganizer.com HOW DO I OBTAIN A FIBA stivals.
▼ Palau Amateur Basketball Associa- ORGANIZER CD OR LICENSE?
tion http://plw. fibaorganizer. com If you would like to obtain a FIBA Organi- Below is a cross section of some of our
▼ Samoa Basketball Association zer CD or License, please contact Wol- past and current clients:
http://sam.fibaorganizer.com fram Klug, FIBA IT Manager, at klug@fi-
▼ WASL: http://www.waslsports.com ba.com. ▼ 2002 World Masters Games – 29
▼ Polski Zwiazek Koszykówki sports, 25.000 participants.
http://pol.fibaorganizer.com WHO IS SPORTINGPULSE? ▼ 2003 and 2005 Australian Masters
COMPANY PROFILE Games – 59 sports, 10.000 partici-
NEW USERS SportingPulse is the leading designer pants. SportingPulse delivered On-
Currently 40 National Federations are and provider of technology solutions for line Registration for individuals and
using the FIBA Organizer. the sport, fitness and leisure industry. teams, participant administration,
The company delivers both online and websites, accreditation and results
The most recent National Federations to offline services that have revolutionised services.
take up a FIBA Organizer License are as the operational and information mana- ▼ 2003 FIBA Oceania Championships.
follows: gement of organisations as broad as vo- ▼ South Pacific Games – 10.000 partici-
▼ Federación Uruguaya de Básquetbol. lunteer based clubs through to multi-na- pants throughout the South Pacific.
▼ Malta Basketball Association. tional corporations. This includes major ▼ 2004 – 2006 Australia Day Fun Run th-
▼ Malaysia Basketball Association. events, local, state and national sporting roughout Australia .
▼ Indonesian Basketball Association. associations, as well as whole country ▼ 2004 Oceania Football Confederation
solutions. Men's Olympic Qualifying Tourna-
LOOKING AHEAD ment.
SOFTWARE ENHANCEMENTS SportingPulse have created Software ▼ Contract with the Northern Territory
The early stages of the project have hi- products and services for high profile, Government for the 2004, 2006 Alice
ghlighted that the needs of an NF are dif- team-based sports which have produ- Springs Masters Games and 2005
ferent to a grassroots association/lea- ced the immediate benefits of increased Arafura Games.
gue, with less players, but more audien- time, reduced costs and improvement in ▼ The Oceania National Olympic Com-
ce, higher levels of organisation, more communication. These products include mittee, including the 2005 South Pa-
focus on stats and historical information. comprehensive competition and mem- cific Mini Games and the 2007 South
These needs have led to the introduction ber management systems, online regi- Pacific Games.
of the following new additions to FIBA stration for leagues, tournaments and ▼ 2007 World Swimming Champion-
Organizer which are coming soon. single and multi-sport events, results ships.

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OFFICIAL COACHING SOF TWARE

THE “NEW”
ASSISTANT COACH
“Sideline Organizer”, the FIBA Official Coaching Software,
offers multi feature coaching solutions. It is designed spe-
cifically to help coaches with organization, communication
and analyses of their practices and games. Once distribu-
ted to all FIBA Approved Coaches, “Sideline Organizer”
will give access to all educational material which combi-
nes written material, video, and modern technology.

SIDELINE VIDEO ANALYZER

Sideline Video Analyzer is for providing an in-depth analy-
sis of games/matches after they have been played. Great
effort has been made into making the technical aspect of
working with video user-friendly and straight forward. The
software is not just created to fit IT personnel but also for
the coach. The game is captured to a PC and with a few
mouse-clicks, possessions or incidents in the games are
defined for later analysis. Here is a sample of what can be
done with Sideline Video Analyzer.

▼ Analyze team and players performance.

▼ Give players visual feedback with videos.
▼ Create highlight films in a matter of seconds.
▼ Create DVDs, CDs, or VCR tapes with video clips from games.
▼ Store a whole seasons worth of games on a single laptop.

Querying for information from a game or games is simple, but powerful. What makes the software special and extremely basketball spe-
cific is that it enables the coach to not only search for specific video clips, but also query from the vast amount of statistical data of what
happens in the games.
Examples of questions that can be queried from Sideline Video Analyzer.
VIDEO QUERY
▼ See all transition 3-point shots after
basket penetration and kick out.

▼ See all transition turnovers.

▼ See players turnovers, categorized

as “bad pass” against teams in our
league.

▼ See all plays “Thumb 1” that where

scored from the post while playing
against a specific team.

▼ See all instances of an opponent

getting called for a “charge” this
season.

Statistical query
▼ Cross reference all plays vs. result -
Play Efficiency Ratio

▼ Cross reference all types of turno-

vers vs. players and give a break-
down of turnovers in our league
games.

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OFFICIAL COACHING SOF TWARE

▼ View a comparison of our scoring

ratio against zone defense when
Grant and Bill are playing guards vs.
Grant and James.

▼ What player has the highest team

scoring ratio per possession?

▼ What is our ratio between posses-

sions that end in transition vs. half
court, and what is the scoring ratio
difference between seasons.

▼ What is the difference in made 3-

point shots per quarter during the
whole season.

All statistical queries give access to the

corresponding video with a click of a
button.
Drill, Exercise and Tactic Collection
The Drill and Tactic Collection is the heart of the
Organizer , where drills, exercises, strategies
and philosophies that you compile over your
coaching career are organized. It also organizes
scouting reports, feedback files and all the other
files for fast and easy access.

Files can be created as advanced documents

with Word, Excel, PowerPoint-compatible featu-
res. All content can be shared with other coa-
ches or players by e-mail, making the software a
“must use” teaching tool. By combining text, dia-
grams, animations and video clips, you utilize
many different ways of learning. When a coach
introduces something new to players the visual
media leaves no room for misunderstanding.

Draw Diagrams and Create Animations

In the playbook plays and drills can be illustrated
in a few seconds with diagrams. If the coach
prefers to make the diagrams come alive, they
can easily be animated, with smooth and detai-
led control of the running paths of the players.

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Calendar time planning and organizing the seasons statistics. Precise analysis of practice load
All practice plans and scheduled games are practice sessions. All practice plans are and comparisons between different practice
stored in a calendar. The calendar gives a archived for later reference and also forms categories gives coaches crucial data for
month by month overview of practice and the base for a statistical practice analysis. self assessment. The training information
game load. The software allows the user to can be compared between seasons or with
create schedules of season's events, games Statistical Analysis perfomance statistics.
and/or practice plans and print out with a The statistical analysis feature is an innova-
click of a button. ting feature. Coaches are provided with vital Video
information about how time is spent in prac- Sideline Organizer comes with video captu-
Practice Plan tice with just one click of a button. What re and manual video editing features that
One of the most popular and practical fea- coaches realize after having used the support coaches efforts to give visual feed-
ture of the Organizer is the Practice Organizer is that this data can be just as back to their players or create teaching
Planner. The practice plan feature saves important to your overall success as game material in multimedia form.

PLAYER PROFILER
The most advanced version is the Sideline Organizer XPS. This to record when and where injuries or sickness come about.
version is the perfect solution for professional teams, youth aca- ▼ Insert and keep records of all tests - With a simple click of a
demies and larger programs. The XPS Edition contains features button, create spreadsheets with charts and graphs showing
for profiling all the players of a program. development on various aspects.
▼ Keep records of received therapies - A great way for physi-
Here is a sample of what can be done with Sideline Organizer cal therapists or trainers to log their work.
XPS. ▼ General information - Customize your own categories for
▼ Log and analyze practice participation - The program tracks team or individual reports.
practice participation and injuries. ▼ Save time creating reports - With a simple mouse-click the
▼ Keep training records - Analyze individual training records. XPS provides the coach with detailed, all-inclusive reports
▼ Log injuries - This allows the coach or the physical therapist that can be shared electronically or printed out.

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OFFICIAL COACHING SOF TWARE

PHYSICAL TRAINING

Along with keeping a complete profile on all players the software

allow the user to create workout programs for strength and conditio-
ning. Workout programs are then applied to the athletes where each
athlete has his/her own personal workout calendar where all the that specializes in solutions for coaches and trainers. The com-
workouts are collected. The athlete can access his/her workouts via pany also provides its clients with consultation in the field of coa-
the Internet. Exercises within workouts are linked to an Exercise ching organization, management and game analysis. Since 1999
Website containing video, text and diagrams, describing the exercise. Sideline Sports has been developing software to fit the needs of
The software allows for detailed remote communication between ath- the whole coaching spectrum, all the way from the grassroot coa-
letes and coaches where all the results of the training are transferred ches to the NBA.
electronically to the coach. ▼ Sideline Sports works with the two main phases of coaching –
Preparation and Performance.
BASKETBALL ACADEMY First an environment is constructed where the preparation can be
Sideline Sports has established a basketball academy in Iceland. The organized, monitored, and analyzed. Creating visual aids to help a
academy was founded in July 2005 in basketball program with communication
Selfoss Iceland and functions as a labora- and teaching is an important part of the
tory for the development for the Sideline concept. In the performance phase
Sports product concepts and to promote video analysis of games is compared
the idea of effective coaching organization and integrated to the analysis of the pre-
and management. The academy consists paration phase as well as giving impor-
of 16 student-athletes from the age 15 to 19. tant information about the opponents.
The main purpose of the academy is to Sideline Sports has developed two inter-
create a unique development environment connected software concepts for these
for promising basketball players. purposes.
The coaching and training staff handles all ▼ Sideline Organizer – Preparation Phase.
product training and consultancy for ▼ Sideline Video Analyzer – Performance
basketball clients of Sideline Sports. Phase.
More information can be found on the
ABOUT SIDELINE SPORTS Sideline Sports websitehttp://www.sideli-
▼ Sideline Sports is a software company nesports.com.

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BASKETBALL FOR YOUNG PLAYERS

A UNIVERSAL
TEXTBOOK
In order to help countries that do not aspect of basketball, but
have the resources and teaching mate- rather a volume intended
rials, FIBA published “Basketball for for coaches who are
Young Players”, a book that is also avai- already certified, and who
lable on CD format in six languages; therefore have a technical
English, French, Spanish, Russian, understanding of the sport.
Arabic, and Chinese.
The National Basketball Federations of The book was written with
Sweden, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the help of several experts
Serbia and Montenegro, India, Finland, with various professional
Croatia, and Korea published an edition backgrounds, including
in their native languages. psychology, sports psy-
FIBA believes that a book is a powerful chology, physical educa-
working tool for any basketball coach tion, and law. All have
and this publication covers all working extensive experience
techniques for beginners (mini-basket- working as basketball coa-
ball) through juniors (18 years old). ches of young players.
“Basketball for Young Players” stresses
that coaches who work with young The objective of
players cannot coach the same way as “Basketball for Young
coaches working with professionals; Players” is to describe
they need to develop their own working specific ways of working with children ped and established, but to complement
style, which takes into account the ath- and adolescents, highlighting the metho- them, or to serve as a starting program if
letic and personal development of dological points and contents that should one does not already exist.
players. predominate from minibasketball to
juniors. “Basketball for Young Players” is an
“Basketball for Young Players” is not a This book is not intended to replace exi- attempt to transmit a progressive
handbook that attempts to cover every sting training programs already develo- working scheme for young players.
During the mini-basketball stage, it is
suggested that global standardized work
be carried out with all of the children in
order to help their physical and psycho-
logical development and provide the
players opportunities to develop basket-
ball fundamentals.

The content of this book is very practical.

It allows coaches to easily apply recom-
mendations. It is indeed important for
coaches to learn psychological strate-
gies that may be incorporated into their
daily working methods in order for their
players to achieve better performances
and greater satisfaction. In addition, a
detailed description on how to plan and
organize effective coaching sessions,
coaching behavior and how to best com-
municate with players is mentioned.
The whole content of “Basketball for
Young Players” together with the anima-
ted diagrams and video sequences of all
the drills may be found in the FIBA
Official Coaching Software.

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HOOPS COACH

secrets from the stars

In addition to "Basketball for Young Players," FIBA has released "Hoops
Coach," an educational CD combining theory and practice that promotes the
game of basketball. FIBA filmed five basketball players, Aleksander "Sasa"
Djordjevic, Alberto Herreros, Predrag Stojakovic, Mehmet Okur, and Dino
Radja, each of them playing at different positions. These high-level players
demonstrate various basic skills required in their positions and detail the
secrets of their success. What can be seen on this educational CD is not the
only the way to work on basketball fundamentals but how the various on-
court drills helped the five top players in their careers. We believe that the
performance of every detail is extremely important, which is why we offer
the experience and expertise of these stars. We firmly believe that, in addi-
tion to hard work, these little "insider secrets" will help improve one's bas-
ketball game.

"HOOPS COACH" CONTENT

▼ Video Instructions: This section provides instructions in the form of texts
and videos. Each video covers specific important pointers in gym prac-
tice and game clips to detail the actual execution. Every player provides
recommendation on how to react according to his position on the court.
The Point Guard position describes, among the other, how to hold the
ball, shoot free- throws and jump shots, and details dribbling or passing
specifics. The Shooting Guard shows how to make a shot while using a
screen, taking jump shots after a dribble, and how to penetrate to the
basket. The Forward position demonstrates shooting after a fake, taking
a fade away shot, and when a dunk is preferable to a short jump shot.
The Power Forward describes up and under actions, hook shots,
reverse pivots, and outlet passing. Finally, the Center position describes
shooting positions under the basket, how to make a jump hook, and
proper footwork for pivoting to the basket.

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▼ Physiology: This section covers off-court exercises that are impor-

tant to prevent injuries and maintain peak performance. Different
exercises are recommended based on a player's ability. Different
intensities of training are suggested and stretching positions are
outlined. The video clips show the right way to perform all exercis-
es. Specific exercises are provided for the lower body, upper body,
and combination exercises that focus on the whole body. The cus-
tomized section of this part will help users to individualize their
practices based on their individual needs.

▼ Nutrition: Eating a nutritious, well-balanced diet is one of the sim-

plest, most effective ways of improving sports performance and this
section covers the basics of nutrition, stressing the proper balance of
proteins, carbohydrates, and fats. The use of vitamins and minerals is
described. Proper water intake for training and competition is dis-
cussed, and doping issues are reviewed. Users can tailor their meal
plans and diets, and then print them for reference. Different menus
are suggested for game day, whether it is a late morning, early after-
noon, or evening game. In addition, several supplements, which can
be taken throughout the day, are suggested.

▼ Q & A: This section covers most frequently asked questions, with

video answers supplied from the players.

▼ No Doping Campaign: This section features video important mes-

sages from the players, urging the viewers to avoid drug use and
doping for sports enhancement.

▼ Fun: This section feature computer screen savers and desktop

images of action shoots, along with video clips from players.

FIBA "Hoops Coach" is an important coaching resource that will help

coaches at all levels conduct clinics and allow them to show their
players the important details needed to refine their basketball skills.

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REFEREEING

THE SILENT
SUPPORTING CAST
The datab a s e o f a l l F I B A A c t i v e
Referees, FIBA Active Commissioners
and FIBA Honorary Referees has been
completed and displayed on the FIBA
website www.fiba.com/About FIBA/FIBA
officials. Information about each indi-
vidual (name, date of birth, country)
is supplied, together with his/her
photo.

A FIBA REFEREES
In the period of 2004-2005, 1.216 FIBA
Referee have participated at the FIBA
Refresher Clinics. At present there are
946 FIBA Active Referees divided per
FIBA Zones as follows:

FIBA Zone Referees %

Africa 107 11,4

Americas 234 24,7
Asia 243 25,7
Europe 338 35,7
Oceania 24 2,5
Total 946 100

A total of 82 FIBA Clinics for Referee

Candidates and Refreshers were held
in 2003-2006 in all FIBA Zones. In addi-
tion to that, special clinics for Young
Potential Referees were held in Eu-
rope and Asia regularly; and FIBA and
the FIBA Zones have organized nu-
merous clinics for national referees in
78 countries worldwide.

The FIBA Women’s Commission ex-

pressed its dissatisfaction in 2004. On-
ly 5.5 % of all FIBA Active Referees
were females. FIBA has started a
strong initiative in 2005-2006 to bring
more women to officiating, coaching,
and table officiating.

Recently, much more women referees

take part at the FIBA Clinics for Refer-
ee Candidates. A Special Clinic for Fe-
male Referees was held in Iran and
similar ones will be held in April 2007
in Japan and in Europe.
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In order to unify the criteria of the the FIBA Commissioners in the other increase the number and the level of
officiating, the pre-championship FIBA Zones. the FIBA National Referee Instructors.
clinics for referees were introduced
in 2005. All the referees participating With the increasing number of compe- D FIBA REFEREE SUPERVISORS
at the FIBA World Championships titions and with the obligation of the Following the discussion at the FIBA
2005 got together two days before the FIBA Zones to designate only FIBA Ac- Technical Commission meeting on
championships. The lecturers fo- tive Commissioners for the official Janu a r y 2 1 - 2 2 , 2 0 0 5 i n S a n J u a n ,
cused on three-person officiating and competitions, all other FIBA Zones or- Puerto Rico, with regards to the fact
the Unified Criteria of Officiating ganized their own Clinics for Commis- that a “referees’ monitoring system
were presented. sioner Candidates. should be implemented at the main
The referees also worked in smaller official FIBA competitions,” the FIBA
groups. They raised topics such as the In addition to the regular clinics held in Referee Supervisors were then intro-
feeling for the game, psychological Europe, three clinics were held in duced the same year. The main rea-
preparation of referees, and control of Africa and first ever clinics were held sons were as follows:
the game. All underwent a physical fit- in Asia (Malaysia, Lebanon), the Ameri-
ness test. cas (El Salvador), and in Oceania (Aus- ▼ The necessity to work with the
tralia). All FIBA Zones are now in posi- referees during the championship
The results of the pre-championship tion to designate to their competitions at a more professional level.
clinics were extremely positive and so only FIBA Active Commissioners in ac- ▼ The Supervisors were already
they will become a regular activity be- cordance with the FIBA Internal Regu- present in almost all the other
fore each championship, including the lations. sports.
2006 World Championships for Men ▼ The immediate feedback on the
and Women in Japan and Brazil. C NATIONAL REFEREE INSTRUCTORS referee's performance allows for
In order to have a sufficient number of a possible improvement of the
The table below represents the present referees correctly officiating referees' performance already
statistics of the FIBA Honorary Refer- national/international games and during the championship.
ees involved in each zone. championships, the National Referee ▼ It allows a better unification of the
Instructor’s category has been intro- officiating criteria, one of the most
FIBA Zone Honorary % duced in 1995. criticized aspects of officiating at
Referees the FIBA World Championships; as
The Instructors are the “extended the referees are coming from all
Africa 61 9,9 arm” of the FIBA Technical Commis- FIBA Zones.
Americas 87 14,1 sion responsible in each respective
Asia 178 28,8 country for the teaching and the edu- In 2005, the FIBA Referee Supervisors
Europe 261 42,3 cation of referees in line with FIBA of- were first implemented at the FIBA
Oceania 30 4,9 ficial rules, interpretations of the U19 World Championship for Women
Total 617 100 rules, and the mechanics of officiating. in Tunisia and at the FIBA U21 World
Championship for Men in Argentina.
If possible, every national federation
B FIBA COMMISSIONERS should have at least one national refer- The basic duties of the Supervisors
At present, there are 237 FIBA Active ee instructor. are to evaluate the performance of the
Commissioners divided per FIBA referees during the championship and
Zones as follows: So far, an intermediate goal has been to hold daily clinics with referees
reached and all FIBA Zones have viewing and analyzing the games
FIBA Zone Commissioners % now National Referee Instruc- played in the previous day.
tors (NRIs).
Africa 14 6,0 After the championships, the FIBA
Americas 20 8,4 After Europe with 67 and the Referee Evaluation Report is send by
Asia 32 13,5 Americas with 36 NRIs, clinics the FIBA Secretariat to each referee
Europe 161 67,9 for NRIs were held in the past via his/her respective national bas-
Oceania 10 4,2 four years in the remaining FIBA ketball federation. The six-page re-
Total 237 100 Zones. Africa has 17, Asia 16, and port contains positive and negative
Oceania 4 NRI. remarks on his/her officiating and it
The FIBA Commissioner’s institution ends with recommendations for the
has a very strong tradition in Europe With the above clinics, the training future.
due to the European club competitions process of NRIs has been completed in We have received very positive feed-
played regularly since 1956, with as all the FIBA Zones and are now in place back from the national federations and
many as 252 club teams that partici- 46 regional and 140 NRIs worldwide. referees and it proved to be the right
pated in the season 1995-1996. The procedure to help improve officiating
large number of international games It has been said, “behind each suc- worldwide.
played every week required the corre- cessful referee stands a good instruc-
sponding number of the FIBA Commis- tor.” FIBA EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS
sioners in Europe, in comparison to Therefore, all efforts must be made to According to the FIBA Statutes, the FI-

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REFEREEING

BA Technical Commission is responsi-

ble for the training, examination, and
qualification of international referees,
as well as for preparing them for the
main international competitions of
men’s and women’s basketball. More-
over, the Commission is the competent
body for all matters concerning the
practical application of the Official
Basketball Rules.

Consequently, for the effective educa-

tion and training of the referees, the
FIBA Commission provided educa-
tional and printed materials to the
FIBA Zones, to all national basketball
federations, to the FIBA international
and national instructors, referees,
coaches, players, and to all those who
are interested in basketball in general
and in officiating in particular.

The FIBA Secretariat is regularly asked

by almost all the above-mentioned
bodies and individuals to supply them
with different kind of materials on offi-
ciating such as rulebooks, videos,
DVDs, CDs, and rule interpretations.

In the last years, the FIBA Technical

Commission has produced a large
number of quality materials (listed be-
low).

We have received numerous expres-

sions of appreciation for the work
done.

▼ FIBA Official Rule Book and Bas-

ketball Equipment 2004 and 2006.
▼ FIBA Two and Three-Person Offi-
ciating 2004 and 2006.
▼ FIBA Official Interpretations of
Rules 2004 and 2006.
▼ FIBA Minibasketball Rules 2005.
▼ FIBA Statistics Manual Basket-
ball for Everybody (illustrated,
easy reading rule book).
▼ FIBA Official Physical Fitness
Test for Referees CD.
▼ FIBA Guidelines for Referee Edu-
cation - Volume 1, Criteria for Of-
ficiating DVD.
▼ FIBA Guidelines for Referee Edu-
cation - Volume 2, Three-Person make their own copies for a better un- lines for the Work of Table Officials.
Officiating DVD. derstanding of basketball and basket-
ball officiating. Thirty-four articles from top experts
All the above resources are displayed on basketball officiating were pub-
on the FIBA website and FIBA has en- The new FIBA Manual for National lished in 20 issues of the FIBA Assist
couraged all the national federations Federations contains a chapter dedi- magazine.
to translate them to their national lan- cated to the Referees – Guidelines for In each issue, there are 10 rule ques-
guage (where appropriate) and has Recruitment of New Referees, Nation- tions where the readers can test their
encouraged all basketball fans to al Development Program, and Guide- knowledge of basketball rules.
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STUDY CENTRE

IT S NOT ONLY THE GAME

The past years have been very active for
the FIBA Study Centre, with many different
events and important publications pro-
duced.

As regularly mentioned in FIBA’s work, the

Centre’s objective is to help equip and in-
crease the number of sport facilities
throughout the world; encourage the con-
struction of basic facilities; refurbish older
facilities, and co-ordinate research initia-
tives. Its task is also to offer consulting
services for materials, equipment design,
and construction of basketball arenas.

When building or re-building an arena,

nothing should be neglected. Effective- adapted sports halls for their teams, their with the official basketball rules.
ness, professionalism, safety, security are visitors, and most of all, the general public. Our partners are involved in different cat-
only a few aspects among many others egories, such as wooden flooring, syn-
that need to be analyzed regularly in order When the FIBA Study Centre was created thetic flooring, electronic scoreboards,
to optimize the Study Centre’s objectives. in Munich in 1994, three partners came on backstop units, electric and electronic
Yet, the Study Centre’s ongoing tasks could board. Twelve years later, the Study Cen- systems, seating systems, and a variety of
only be achieved with the help of our part- tre has reached a figure of 50 partners and miscellaneous others. Regardless of the
ners and the contribution of all national about 15 additional associates; all of them category, all are committed to make the
federations who wish to have the most manufacturing equipment that comply basketball world a safer world.

FIBA STUDY CENTRE GUIDE FOR PARTNERS NATIONAL FEDERATIONS

As the number of partners increased considerably, particu- the building of sports halls all over the world.
larly at the beginning of 2003, the FIBA Study Centre decided
to give more visibility to its partners and long-time friends. Following the guide’s success and changes that took
place among the partners, the Study Centre went on pub-
The first “FIBA Study Centre Guide for Partners & National lishing a new guide in 2005. The distribution was bigger
Federations” was published in 2003. The guide was widely and allowed FIBA to realize that the “FIBA Study Centre
distributed to National Federations, Central Board Guide for Partners & National Federations” will be pro-
Members, World Congress Members, and Ministries of duced every two years considering the fast growing evo-
Sports and sent on regular basis to architects involved in lution of products.

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STUDY CENTRE

GUIDE TO BASKETBALL FACILITIES FOR HIGH LEVEL COMPETITIONS GUIDE

TO SMALL BASKETBALL FACILITIES
When the FIBA Study Centre was officially
created in 1994, a few incidents were still
present on the field. The Study Centre’s task
was therefore to achieve the goal of zero
incidents.

In October 1997, the “Guide to Basketball

Facilities for High-Level Competitions” was
produced. Two years later the “Guide to
SMALL Facilities” was published. With a
combination of the “Official Basketball
Rule”s, the guides’ objective was to provide
guidelines for the planning, building, and
homologation of basketball facilities.

An emphasis was put on support for the

development of everyday basic sports activi-
ties, construction, and maintenance costs, as
well as respect of international and national
standards.

FIBA SAFETY STANDARDS

IN HALLS
Among our publications, the “FIBA Safety
Standards in Halls” was published in October
2004. This version was highly welcomed from
all national federations, as well as from local
and regional communities in the world.

The first concern is, indeed, ensuring safety in

basketball arenas. The health and safety
aspect of basketball facilities is a duty incum-
bent on all those assigned to protect peoples’
security and the physical condition of the
building. Protective safety equipment has
been developed and recommended for many
different sports. The purpose is to help pre-
vent and reduce the severity of injuries.

The “FIBA Safety Standards in Halls” guide

covers procedural aspects, technical charac-
teristics for design and construction, manage-
ment and organizational aspects and liability in
the management of basketball facilities

This edition of the “FIBA Safety Standards in

Halls” is the first one . Due to a fast moving
environment, the current version will be re-
edited in the course of 2006, with slight amend-
ments linked to our Partners and Sponsors.

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FIBA OUTDOOR PROJECT

The latest publication produced by the FIBA Study Centre is the ble study of outdoor basketball courts had to be taken into
“FIBA Outdoor Project”. This project has been ongoing for more account for the safety of the players on one hand, and the sus-
than five years, and came into force in February 2006. This is the tainable environment on the other hand. This study became
first guide for the construction and maintenance of outdoor even more urgent when several national federations requested
basketball courts! assistance with their basketball development and promotion
Popular throughout the world, basketball is played not only in program.
gyms and arenas, but also in streets and playgrounds. The fact Building an outdoor court may seem an easy task at first
that little equipment is required and the simplicity of the rules, glance; nevertheless there are many fundamentals to take into
basketball possesses universality and appeal that enables it to consideration. The location for the construction is one of them.
offer character-building experiences and social advancement Safety and maintenance is another important aspect; and
to those who play it. finally, the technology and the material during the court con-
Yet, though the sport may be also considered as a recreational struction have to be considered. The list is obviously not
rite of social integration or reintegration in some cases, a feasi- exhaustive in comparison to the “FIBA Outdoor Project” itself.

OFFICIAL BASKETBALL RULES BASKETBALL RULES

BASKETBALL EQUIPMENT
All these guides, introduced so far, have always been produced with the help
of the FIBA rulebooks. FIBA has published printed rulebooks in 1998, 2000, and
2004.

The 1998 version contained already numerous technical details on basketball

equipment. Yet, after many complaints on the way it was structured, it was
decided at the World Technical Commission—and with the agreement and con-
tribution of the FIBA Study Centre—to create an appendix to the rulebook for
the Technical Equipment.

This was first implemented in the 2000 rulebook. For the 2004 version of the
“Official Basketball Rules-Basketball Rule & Basketball Equipment”, only a few
changes were necessary.

The Rulebook allows the Study Centre to be accurate when expressing its
needs for the Approval Program. With regards to the categories linked to the
flooring, electronic scoreboards, lighting, and the backstop units, the rulebook
is indeed essential for the equipment homologation.

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STUDY CENTRE

FIBA ASSIST MAGAZINE

As the FIBA Study Centre Partners and Associates are the The FIBA Study Centre tries indeed to promote, as much as
heart of the Study Centre, Board Members (each of them possible, the FIBA Study Centre Partners. Their respective
representing a category) have been requested since the end Research & Development departments work intensively to
of 2003 to write an article in the “FIBA Assist” magazine make sports equipment reliable and safe. From there on,
about the evolution of one type of equipment. These articles their contribution in the publishing of our reviews is very
have been widely appreciated and continue to be so. valuable to us.

CONSULTING SERVICES FOR CONSTRUCTION OF BASKETBALL ARENAS

As stated earlier, the FIBA Study Centre has also been
widely involved in the construction and refurbishment
of different arenas. Recently, these have included the
Belgrade Arena, the location for the 2004 Diamond Ball
Tournament, and most recently, the 2005 European
Championship. The Study Centre is also involved with
the Wukesong Cultural and Sports Centre in Beijing,
which will be the site of the Olympic Games in 2008.

The FIBA Study Centre also contributed intensively to

the plans for the Hellinikon basketball venue in Athens
for the 2004 Olympic Games.

At the beginning of 2003, many contacts were created

between FIBA, the Local Organizing Committee
(ATHOC), and the Ministry of Public Works. Frequent

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site inspections were done at the Hellenikon Sports Centre, ous technical installations (electricity, air conditioning, and
Oaka Indoor Hall, and Agia Paraskevi. fire safety). A strong involvement also took place at Agia
Paraskevi with jobs such as polishing the wooden flooring
The FIBA Study Centre coordinated much of the work on the and replacing all basket rims. These are just a few examples
building sites and provided advice on the assembly of vari- of what the Study Centre has done.

EVENTS AND MEETINGS

One of the most important events for the FIBA Study Centre
FSB K LN GERMANY
is FSB Köln.
Many of the publications that have been mentioned above
Every two years, the city of Cologne in Germany organizes
could not have been produced if meetings, fairs, and site
the International Trade Fair for Amenity Areas, Sports and
inspections of arenas had not been carried out.
Pool Facilities (FSB).

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STUDY CENTRE

The International Basketball Federation (FIBA) and the Famous teams from the German Bundesliga are brought to
FIBA Study Centre are always present with a “Village” of the FIBA Centre court and put on basketball demonstrations.
about 1,200 square meters, including a basketball court Children and paralympic basketball players also entertain
with daily basketball activities. the public during the whole event.

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More than 20 FIBA Study Centre Partners and Sponsors the planning and building of basketball facilities.
have their own booths within the FIBA village. The International Trade Fair for Amenity Areas, Sports and
The FIBA Village features new trends, momentum, and Pool Facilities (FSB), proves to be a wonderful business
inspiration for basketball equipment, and give support to opportunity for many.

SPORTACCORD
The FIBA Study Centre gets involved every year in SportAccord in order to present all its activities.

SportAccord brings together representatives from the International Federations affiliated with General Association of
International Sports Federations (GAISF), Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF) and
Association of International
Winter Sports Federations
(AIOWF), as well as the
International Olympic
Committee (IOC) Executive
Board to discuss the key issues
facing the sports movement
alongside sponsors, architects,
sports lawyers, broadcasters,
and other specialists.

The convention includes open

conference sessions, work-
shops, seminars, scheduled net-
working opportunities, and an
exhibition, all scheduled around
the Associations’ meetings.

“SportAccord is the perfect envi-

ronment in which to promote
FIBA and its activities to the IOC,
the International Federations and
to those companies specialising
in sports,” explains Aldo Vitale,
Director of Study Centre for FIBA.
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STUDY CENTRE

PARTNERS AND DECISIONAL BOARD MEETING

OF THE FIBA RESEARCH AND STUDY CENTRE
Since the FIBA Study Centre has been created, annual meetings are
held on a yearly basis. Gatherings with partners and board members
take place in different parts of the world, and an additional meeting
is held with the decisional board only.

Both meetings allow the Study Centre to expose its ideas, provide
suggestions for the future, present the new Partners to the rest of
the “family,” and, as well, allow the Partners to express themselves
on the topics they wish to focus on. The Partners’ meeting also per-
mits Partners from the same category to meet and see what the
needs specific to their equipment are, and also gives them a chance
to share their experiences and know-how in this fast moving world.

Every Partner applies for a four-year cycle agreement. All involved

in the manufacturing of sports equipment enrol into the FIBA Study
Centre Approval Program, which will give them the opportunity to
make bids to the local organizing committees (LOC) and propose
their equipment to the suppliers across the world.

The FIBA Approval Program is a long process of homologation, yet

serves as a guarantee for quality and safe equipment. Once the
manufacturer becomes a Partner, the FIBA Study Centre does its
best to promote its equipment at every sports event.

The FIBA Research and Study Centre has been growing fast. With more companies involved in the manufacturing of sports
equipment and as the game of basketball has been developing, our company partners are also moving faster and faster to make
the world of basketball a better and safer world!

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ANTIDOPING

CLEAN GAME
The anti-doping activities of FIBA during recent years have As is the case in most federations, a large number of players
reached a historical turning point. request exemptions for the use of inhaled beta-2 agonists
and glucocorticosteroids (used for treating asthma).
Following the creation of the World Anti-Doping Agency in
1999, which permitted the promotion and coordination of In April 2004, FIBA created a TUE Committee, comprising six
international efforts against doping in sports, the World doctors, who are responsible for reviewing applications for
Anti-Doping Code was developed. TUE’s. The “Medical Corner” on FIBA.com was also created.
It implemented at the World Conference on Doping in Sport It informs applicants about the application procedures and
in Copenhagen in March 2003. enables them to download the necessary FIBA TUE forms.
On 28 January 2004, FIBA signed its formal acceptance of The official WADA List of Prohibited Substances and
the Code and modified its Internal Regulations governing Methods is also available. In the future this webpage will be
Doping Control accordingly. expanded to address a range of other topics related to the
It was necessary to adapt FIBA Regulations concerning fight against doping, permitting more effective support of
Therapeutic Use Exemptions (TUEs), doping control proce- FIBA’s activities in this area.
dures, and results management. These amended
Regulations became effective on 1 April 2004. Yet, slight The table below demonstrates clearly the considerable
changes were made again recently and published on the increase in TUE applications received by FIBA since 2002.
FIBA website on 31 January 2006.
Throughout the last few years, it was evident that an unac-
THERAPEUTIC USE EXEMPTIONS TUE ceptably high number of TUE applications were sent late,
The FIBA TUE procedures are currently consistent with the were incomplete and/or were illegible.
WADA International Standard for Therapeutic Use For this reason, there were delays in their review and appro-
Exemptions, except for one aspect: the Beta-2 agonists. In val. It is obvious that players, coaches, physicians, and sport
fact, FIBA so far kept its former application procedure, officials need more information and education on the TUE
which is stricter than the one of WADA. process.

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ANTIDOPING

DOPING CONTROLS

DOPING TESTS CARRIED OUT WITHIN THE COMPETITIONS OF FIBA SINCE 2003 2003 2004 2005
Number of In-Competition Tests performed by FIBA
FIBA World 34 12 54
FIBA - Africa 10 0 0
FIBA - Americas 30 0 24
FIBA - Oceania 5 0 8
FIBA - Europe 56 24 110
FIBA - Asia 15 0 0
Total of In-Competition Tests performed by FIBA = 150 36 196

Number of Out-of-Competition Tests performed by FIBA 0 0 0

Number of In-Competition Tests performed by others

(e.g. IOC, WADA, Government or National Sport Association) 0 88 0
Number of Out-of-Competition Tests performed by others
(e.g.WADA, Government or National Sport Association) 0 32 50

Total Number of Tests 150 156 246

RESULTS OF THE ABOVE TESTS 2003 2004 2005

Number of Adverse Analytical Findings (AAFs) 3 6 6
Number of Anti-Doping Rule Violations among the Number
of AAFs 3 5 5
Number of other Anti-Doping Rule Violations
(e.g. refusing or failing to submit to a test,
possession of a prohibited substance) 0 0 0
Number of AAFs closed as a result of a valid TUE 0 1 1

BASKETBALL STATISTICS REGARDING THE WADA OOCT PROGRAMME

YEAR 2004 2005
Total Number of Tests 32 50
Total Number of Urine Tests 32 50
Standard Out of Competition Screen 32 50
EPO Analysis 2 13
Total Male/Female Split 23/9 43/7
Number of Successful Missions 8 7
Average Number of Athletes Tested per Mission 4 7
Number of Unsuccessful Missions 0 1
Number of Nations Tested 11 11
Number of Countries in which Testing Took Place 7 7
Number of Anti-doping Rule Violations 1 0

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IN COMPETITION TESTING plements was produced by WADA in cooperation with FIBA.

During the 2006 season, 46 doping tests were carried out for Those supplements which can contain doping substances
the first time at the Euroleague Basketball and ULEB compe- remain an often unappreciated hazard for ill-advised or
titions. Further tests are planned for the 2006 World Cham- poorly-informed players.
pionships in Japan and Brazil (60 tests for the Men and 42 for All of the educational material noted above is available on
the Women). the FIBA website. In addition, WADA has produced a Doping
Control Video in 5 languages which clearly describes the
OUT OF COMPETITION TESTING process of doping control. This material will be useful for the
In 2004, FIBA and WADA signed a Doping Control agreement, training of sample-taking officers as well as providing prac-
which authorised WADA to collect samples from basketball tical information to players.
players outside of competition (WADA Out-of-Competition
Testing Program). In December 2005, this agreement was
renewed and will be valid until 31 December 2008.

REGISTERED TESTING
POOL AND ATHLETE
WHEREABOUTS
INFORMATION
In 2006, FIBA deci-
ded to annually defi-
ne its Registered
Testing Pool (RTP)
before the start of
each season, taking
into consideration
the respective com-
petition calendar.
This will enable
FIBA in the future to focus on its RTP when providing
Whereabouts Information on Athletes to WADA for its Out-
of-Competition Testing Program.
Following a request from WADA, the Athlete Whereabouts
Information provided to WADA has been improved. In parti-
cular, information concerning the training schedule prece-
NEW FIBA ANTI DOPING LOGO
ding the “in competition period” must be now provided by
FIBA is pleased to unveil its new logo which will further and
the teams participating in any given competition.
clearly identify its fight against Doping.
The colourful, multilingual and “friendly” logo allows all basket-
EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM ON DOPING
ball players to identify themselves with a clean sport spirit.
The anti-doping campaign FIBA launched in 2002 during the
World Championship for Men in CONCLUSION
Indianapolis, saw many interna- On 19 October 2005, the first International
tionally renowned players partici- Convention against Doping in Sport was
pating in the development of a adopted unanimously by the General
video production called “No Conference of UNESCO, which was held
Doping Campaign”. in Paris.
This project was a great success. The Convention enabled many govern-
In 2004, FIBA continued its efforts ments which could not be legally bound
in its fight against doping by publi- by a non-governmental document, such
shing a leaflet in 5 different lan- as the World Anti-Doping Code, to align
guages with the partnership of their domestic legislation with the Code.
several international basketball This will further harmonize the activities
stars. This leaflet is particularly of sport and public authorities in the fight
aimed at young players and against doping in sport. The Convention
informs them about the problem of is now available for UNESCO member
doping in a simple, straightforward states to ratify according to their respec-
way. The information includes the tive national practices.
definition of doping, its traps and
its consequences. Doping control FIBA is confident that its activities ali-
rules and procedures, and players’ gned with all these measures will help to
rights and responsibilities are involve more and more organizations,
explained in an easy and accessi- including its own national federations, in
ble way aided by numerous illu- anti-doping matters. In this way our col-
strations. lective actions will improve our effective-
In 2005, a poster on dietary sup- ness in the fight against doping.
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HALL OF FAME

A TRIBUTE TO THE GREATS

With the object of promoting the scientific
study of basketball with all its aspects, FIBA
recognizes the benefit of the FIBA Pedro
Ferrandiz Foundation. It encourages every
national federation to contribute towards its
development, and to support its international
activities with regard to research and docu-
mentation. In a meeting held in Geneva from
April 27th to 29th, 2001, the FIBA Central
Board agreed to create the “FIBA Hall of
Fame” in a building, which will be adjoined to
the FIBA Pedro Ferrandiz Foundation.
The “FIBA Hall of Fame” will honor those
persons who contributed in an exceptional
way to the development and promotion of
basketball worldwide.

The construction, totally financed by

Alcobendas Council (Madrid, Spain), cost
1.680.357,88 and maintains the architectural
lines of the original building, constructed in
1996 to house the Foundation. The Council’s
wish is to increase the prestige of the town
and attract visitors. For this reason, the
council has ceded the rights of use of the
building for seventy-five years.

The “FIBA Hall of Fame” will occupy 2.000

square meters of floor space (1.585 for exhi-
bitions and 415 for parking, storage and servi-
ce areas) on five different storeys. The inau-
guration of the building is planned for 2007 to
coincide with the 75th anniversary of FIBA.
The responsibility for defining the regulations
and working of the “Hall of Fame” lies with
FIBA, although a grand ceremony should be
organized every two years in which a maxi-
mum of six people will be honoured, with the
exception of the first year in which the list of
people to be honoured could reach twenty.

On October 30, 2006, the Mayor of Alcobendas,

José Caballero Domínguez, shall be presen-
ting a key to FIBA President, on which occa-
sion Patrick Baumann, FIBA Secretary
General will give a press conference to
announce the first candidates for admission.
On this day, in the Avenida Olimpica, site of the
“FIBA Hall of Fame” and the Pedro Ferrandiz
Foundation, the flags of all the nations that
have hosted the Olympic Games in the
modern era will be flown for the first time.

Finally FIBA would like to express a special

thank you to Pedro Ferrandiz and the City
Council of Alcobendas for their munificent
contribution towards the establishment of
the “FIBA Hall of Fame”. It is an important
step for us and we are looking forward to its
long and lasting existence.
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WHEELCHAIR BASKETBALL

PASSION
WITHOUT LIMITS
The International Wheelchair Basketball ve their way down the court to score. Popu- is based on the functional ability of the
Federation (IWBF) is officially recognized lar with the media and fans alike it portrays player as he demonstrates his skill in
by FIBA. It complies with the FIBA General the athleticism of the sport and makes the playing the sport. At no time may a team ha-
Statutes and Internal Regulations. spectator forget about the disability and ve more than 14 points on the floor. This en-
Wheelchair basketball has come a long see only the skill of the athlete. Wheelchair sures that all players regardless of their le-
way since those early days of heavy steel basketball players are classified according vel of disability are integral to the success
hospital wheelchairs with limited mobility to to the degree of their disability with the mo- of the team. Based on the rules of the run-
today’s custom made wheelchairs of tita- st severely disabled player being classed ning game, a spectator will not notice many
nium, so light and maneuverable that the as a 1 and the least severally disabled differences, the basket is in the same place
players almost seem to dance as they wea- player being classed as a 4.5. Classification at the same height. The players shoot three-
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greater mobility to any one who uses a

wheelchair. Started around 1946 in the USA
as a means to rehabilitate World War II vete-
rans, who had been injured, it has grown to
become the number one sport for athletes
with a disability in the world. At much the sa-
me time World War II veterans in England at
Stoke Mandeville were becoming active in
netball. Wheelchair basketball moved
across the Atlantic Ocean to Europe in the
mid 1950s with the participation of the USA
Pan-Am Jets at the International Stoke Man-
deville Games. Wheelchair basketball asso-
ciations were then set up in Europe, the
Americas, Asia and Oceania during the
1960s and 1970s with African and Middle Ea-
stern countries following on in the 1980s. The
1960's world scene was dominated by two
teams, the USA and latter Israel, which won
both men's and women's gold medals at the
1968 Paralympic Games in Tel Aviv. In 1975
the first World Championships for Men, na-
med the "Gold Cup" by its founder Andres
Raes, took place in Bruges, Belgium. Israel
defeated the USA in the final with Great Bri-
tain taking the bronze medal. 1979 was ho-
sted in Tampa, Florida and won by the host
USA. The 1980 Paralympics, in Arnhem, Hol-
land, saw Israel defeat a determined Dutch
side on the strong play from master tactician
Baruch Hagai. In 1983 the Gold Cup moved to
Halifax, Canada and the USA defended their
title. The French under the guidance of its
founding father Robert Perri would win Gold
at the 1984 Paralympics. The USA continued
their dominance in men’s play winning the
"Gold Cup" in 1986 in Melbourne, Australia.
That year it was decided to hold the world
championships every four years. The USA
came back to win gold in the 1988 Paralym-
pics in Seoul Korea. France won Gold Cup in
Bruges in 1990. In 1992 Barcelona, wheel-
chair basketball played to sell out crowds

pointers, foul shots and do lay-ups. The

only difference is they do it in a wheel-
chair and a very special wheelchair at
that. In fact it has been said that many of
the changes in wheelchairs used in every-
day life have come about because the
athletes demanded better, lighter more
easily propelled chairs for the game. This
spills over into the manufacture of every-
day chairs, which in turn brings about
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WHEELCHAIR BASKETBALL

with the Netherlands getting Gold. In 1994

Edmonton, Canada, the USA returned as
World Championships. Australia stunned
the world powers in Atlanta in 1996 on the
strength of a 42 point game by a 20 year old
Troy Sachs which gave his team a victory
over Great Britain. The 1998 world cham-
pionship in Sydney saw the USA men de-
fended their title repeating in 2002 in Ki-
takuyshu, Japan. Canada lead by their out-
standing player Patrick Anderson would
win Paralympic Gold in Sydney in 2000 and
Athens in 2004.
Women's international wheelchair basket-
ball was dominated by West Germany from
1975 until the Paralympic Games in Seoul
1988 where they were defeated by a very
strong USA team. The USA continued to ha-
ve the edge over Germany and in 1990 de-
feated Germany in the final of the 1st Wo-
men's World Championship in France. In
1992 the Canadian women would begin a nada took the Gold. This was followed with At that time ISMGF was the world gover-
dominance of the women’s game winning the 2001 Championships in Blumenau, Bra- ning body for all wheelchair sports. In 1989
the Paralympic Gold medal in Barcelona in zil where Canada defended its title against ISMGF accept the name International
front of 12,500 spectators on the strength of a very strong challenge from Brazil with the Wheelchair Basketball Federation (IWBF)
outstanding play by Chantal Benoit. They competition dropping to six nations. Finally, for its former sub-section. With this step
would go to win their first world champion- in 2005 the tournament came of age with a wheelchair basketball began its journey for
ship in 1994 in Stoke Mandeville. They fol- full compliment of 12 countries from all four full independence and in 1993 IWBF was
lowed that with gold in Atlanta 1996 at the zones competing in Birmingham, Great Bri- established as the world body for wheel-
Paralympics, in Sydney in 1998 (World’s), tain. Japan surprised everyone by defea- chair basketball with full responsibility for
Sydney 2000 Paralympic Games and gold ting Australia to get into the gold medal ga- development of the sport. The first official
again in Kitakuyshu, Japan in 2002 at the me before finally losing to the USA. At the World Congress of IWBF was held in Ed-
world championships. Their dominance ca- 2005 juniors IWBF allowed the teams to in- monton, on the occasion of the Men’s 1994
me to an end in Athens 2004 when they lost clude female players. IWBF realises this is Gold Cup. Philip Craven, who had served as
to Australia in the Semi-finals. USA would not the best way to develop young women Chairperson of the ISMGF wheelchair ba-
go on to defeat Australia for the Gold. players and is working hard to establish a sketball section from 1988 was elected the
In 1997 IWBF introduced world champion- separate championship for junior women. first President of IWBF. IWBF is the world
ships for junior men. The first tournament In 1973 the International Stoke Mandeville governing body for wheelchair basketball.
was held in Toronto, Canada with only se- Games Federation (ISMGF) established the It is recognized by FIBA and the Internatio-
ven nations attending. The host nation Ca- first Sub-section for wheelchair basketball. nal Paralympic Committee (IPC) as the sole
competent authority in wheelchair basket-
ball world wide. IWBF is governed by an
Executive Council that is elected at the
World Congress every four years. In 2001
Craven was elected President of the Inter-
national Paralympic Committee (IPC) and
retired as president of IWBF. Mrs. Maureen
Orchard (Canada) was elected president of
IWBF at the World Congress in Kitakyushu,
Japan in 2002. IWBF has 81 National Orga-
nizations Governing Wheelchair Basketball
(NOWB) participating in wheelchair ba-
sketball throughout the world. It is estima-
ted that more than 100,000 people play
wheelchair basketball through out the
world. Wheelchair basketball is played by
boys and girls, men and women. In fact the
biggest challenge might be the ability of
IWBF to train coaches, classifiers and refe-
rees to meet the demands of the players. It
is a challenge that IWBF is pleased to ha-
ve.Yes, wheelchair basketball has come a
long way in 60 short years.

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