Basketball Queensland Welcomes New Board Members

Basketball Queensland’s New Board Members

This month Basketball Queensland welcome two new faces to the Basketball Queensland Board, Fiona Allen and Julie George. While they have very different career backgrounds, they both share passion, knowledge and extensive practical experience in all aspects of the game from playing at rep level to coaching, scoring, refereeing and managing teams and running an association.

Both our new board members took some time out of their busy schedules to take part in an interview to find out about a bit more about their backgrounds and what they hope to achieve in their new positions.

Julie George

Julie’s basketball journey spans more than 40 years and she still plays today. Her experience includes President, Secretary and Internal Auditor of a Basketball Association, a State Team Manager, Wide Bay Head Coach, senior men’s, women’s and junior teams, and representative senior and junior player.

Do you have a basketball or a sporting background?                                                       

I initially started playing in the 60’s in primary school as a result of an approach by Ray Alloway (then school teacher and basketball coach). I played basketball for Queensland as a Junior, represented Maryborough and Wide Bay until the late 90s, and have continued to play since then, competing in Australian and World Masters Games. I coached Maryborough and Wide Bay Team representative junior and senior teams for many years and managed Queensland representative junior girls’ basketball teams. More recently I have been on the management committee of Ipswich Basketball Association between 2013 – 2017, holding positions of Secretary and President during those years.

Do you have a basketball hero, Coach or player who inspires you?  

My heroes are the people who were fundamental in introducing and instilling a passion in me for this great game and who have continued to make lifelong contributions to this sport:

Ray Alloway – Ray has an extraordinary passion for basketball, and coached me for many years and just about every other player in Maryborough, the town in which I grew up. He had the ability to inspire, develop skills and bring out the best in every player, not just on the court but as people within the community.

Norma Connolly – I had the honour of working alongside Norma (Head Coach) as her manager of Queensland junior teams and as an ancillary coach at State team training camps. I admire her for her coaching style and she was a role model for me in developing my knowledge of the game from a coaching perspective, and also my attitude and behaviours as a coach. She had an impact on the development not only of a junior players basketball capacity but as a person. 

Do you sit on any other boards or have another job?

Yes. I am the Chair at Skills Impact Ltd, a federal government appointed and funded skills service organisation, Trustee Director at First Super, Industry Superannuation Fund, Director at Super Benefits Administration and HR and Governance Consultant and Contractor, Busi Culture Pty Ltd.

What do you hope to achieve during your time on the board?

Contribute my knowledge and competencies to complement the board’s skills set in continuing to develop and deliver strategies, programs and support for affiliated associations (members) to make basketball the ‘go to’ sport for families, particularly raising the desire/profile of basketball as a preferred sport for females. Also ensuring that Basketball Queensland maintains a strong governance profile and continues to be respected and recognised by key stakeholders as a leading edge, high-performance organisation.

Fiona Allen

Former junior and senior representative player. Former International Statistician. Former TV Commentator. Former National Panel Referee. Current State Level Referee. Commissioner and Assistant Commissioner at State and Australian Junior Championships. Queensland Female Official of the year three times.

How did you get involved in Basketball Queensland?

I got involved in Basketball as my family was heavily involved – Dad played for NZ and Mum did Stats, so my brother and I couldn’t help but catch the bug.

Do you have a basketball or a sporting background?  

I’ve played to rep level, coached, done stats and refereed since early primary school. I’ve also given most other teams sports a go – with varying degrees of success. 

Do you have a basketball hero, Coach or player who inspires you?

People that keep giving to Basketball inspire me – as well as all players more athletic than me.

Do you sit on any other boards or have another job?

I am a Property and Succession lawyer in private practice in Noosa.

What do you hope to achieve during your time on the board?

To always consider how decisions impact on players, coaches, score table and refs and to remember that so much of what is accomplished is due to volunteers.

We welcome our new board members and trust that their diverse capabilities provide an invaluable contribution to the Basketball Queensland Board and the basketball community as a whole in terms of increased participation and volunteering, stakeholder satisfaction and a raised awareness of basketball in our state.