2008 Basketball Working Party               

Chair

Linda Muir

Background

• Currently working with schools as Development Manager of Ainslie Football Club
• Current Member Junior Operations Committee, AFL Canberra
• Former Member Technical Advisory Panel, ACT Academy of Sport
• Director, 6th Australian Masters Games
• Played 10 seasons (209 games) in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL)
• Former Captain Canberra Capitals Women's Basketball Team
• Former AIS Basketball Scholarship Holder

Linda’s vision for Basketball in the 2008 PSG is that it provide young aspiring Basketball players with the opportunity to participate in an international competition. “This is an opportunity that many athletes do not receive until after they have left school, if at all,” she said.

An important legacy of the staging of basketball in the 2008 PSG will not only be the experience and the memories for the athletes, says Linda, but also “the increase in the number of trained referees, bench staff, administrators etc for basketball and the ACT community in general” she said.

 

Working Party Members

Gary Evans

Gary has had a long and profound involvement with Basketball, both as a volunteer and a professional over the last 3 decades.  Gary has been particularly active over the last 20 years as a team manager and a sports administrator.  He worked as National Development Manager and High Performance Manager with Basketball Australia between1991 – 2001.  Gary went on to manage the ‘Year of the Official’ project at the Australian Sports Commission between 2002- 2004 and is currently the General Manager with Basketball Canberra.  In 1988 Gary was presented with his Life membership for his services to Basketball in Canberra.  More significantly, Gary was awarded the Australian Sports Medal in 2000 for his extensive contribution to Basketball.  His other achievements include winning three NBL Championships with the Canberra Cannons and a World Championship with the Australian Young Men’s Basketball Team.

Tony McGee

Tony brings to the 2008 Pacific School Games a wealth of experience as an ex - teacher, player and coach. He was a high school Science and Physical Education teacher and currently works as AusAID’s Sport-for-Development Adviser.  Tony has coached at the local, national and international level.  His impressive coaching resume includes being appointed Swaziland National Coaching coordinator and National Under 20 coach in 2000.  Tony was also Head Coach of the Canberra Capitals in 1990 and the Head Coach of ACT School Girls who won two National Championships in 1997 and 1998.

Barry Barnes

Barry has been involved with competitive Basketball for over 4 decades both as a player and coach.  He played for Australia at the 1962 World Championships and has gone on to represent Australia as a player and coach at over 300 international games.  Barry has attended 4 Olympics, 2 as Assistant Coach in Seoul and Barcelona and 2 as Head Coach at the Atlanta and Sydney Olympic Games.  Barry was the first coach ever to be inducted into the NBL Hall of Fame in 1998 and has since been inducted into the ACT Sports Hall of Fame in 2006 and Basketball Australia Hall of Fame in 2007.  Barry currently works as the Manager for Residential Welfare at the Australian Sports Commission.

Jim Bell

Jim has been actively involved with Intellectually Disabled Basketball since1991.  He has held a number of key positions within this sport including being the Head Coach of the ACT Special Olympics Basketball team between1998 – 2007.  Jim was also the Assistant Coach of the Australian Men’s Basketball team that competed at the Asia Pacific Special Olympics Invitational Games in New Zealand in 2005. He currently works as the Director of the Alison Lawson Centre for Remedial Dyslexia Therapy.

Michael Haynes

Michael has had extensive Basketball experience as a player, coach and official.  He has been involved with the sport since 1979 and has coached at the National and International level with the Sydney Uni Flames, the Oceania Youth and the World University Games teams.  Michael was head coach of Basketball NT from 2001 - 2004 and is currently employed as Chief Operating Officer with Basketball Australia. He leads Basketball Australia’s Community Basketball Team which focuses on the development of education program for coaches, players, officials and administrators.

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