Basketball New Zealand (BBNZ) is thrilled to announce 15 wahine from across Aotearoa, for its 2024 intake of the Emerging Leaders programme.
The BBNZ Emerging Leaders for 2024 are:
Alice Clarkson, Amanda Snowball-Kelso, Anna Bourke, Dani Egle-Bast, Darci Finnigan, Eva Kelly, Justice-Raine Haumaha, Karina Hemmington, Kiara Lianda, Madelin Brown, Maia Williamson, Ramona Fuaiva’a, Rebecca Drake, Roshan Uelese and Shannon Marie Maynard-Pourau.
First launched in 2022, The BBNZ Emerging Leaders Programme is an 18-month development opportunity for emerging female leaders across all areas of basketball – including officials, coaches, administrators, volunteers, and players.
It focuses on empowering participants through residential workshops, mentorship, and skill-building development opportunities, with participants gaining increased self-confidence, improved communication skills, and the ability to think strategically. It is also intentionally designed to empower them throughout their learning journey to contribute to the advancement of basketball associations, clubs and other organisations around the country.
This is the second iteration of the programme, after it was first launched in 2022 as part of BBNZ’s Strengthen and Adapt work. This year’s programme has evolved thanks to the addition of two key exciting changes; a longer course time and the lifting of the age limit.
The programme will now run over the course of 18 months – rather than one year – to allow it to have a more meaningful and practical impact on the participants and their sponsor organisations. This means there will be a new intake of participants every two years.
Lifting the upper age limit – previously at 25 years and younger – is a result of BBNZ recognising that everyone’s leadership journey is unique; and that emerging leaders of all ages should have the opportunity to benefit from the programme on offer.
BBNZ Women & Girls Lead – South, Liz Worthington says that the purpose of the Emerging Leaders programme is to build more strong, capable and confident female leaders in the basketball community.
“Over the next 18 months, these leaders will engage in a variety of activities, workshops, and projects that aim to shape them into an influential leader within the basketball landscape. The first of these is our upcoming Residential Workshop in Auckland next month,” says Worthington.
“We’re incredibly excited to kick off the programme with this workshop, which will be a great opportunity for the leaders to connect with fellow participants and engage in interactive sessions, inspiring discussions, hands-on activities, and hear valuable insights from seasoned leaders across the sector and beyond.”
Worthington believes that the Emerging Leaders Programme is as much about the personal development of the participants as leaders, as it is their contribution to the growth of basketball across New Zealand.
“The commitment of these participants to the programme demonstrates their dedication to becoming a positive force both in the basketball community and within the personal aspects
of their lives. We’re confident they will emerge from this experience as more confident and impactful leaders; we cannot wait to embark on this journey with them.”
BBNZ Chief Executive, Dillon Boucher says that BBNZ has placed a strong priority on growing the game for Women and Girls in New Zealand – with Emerging Leaders expecting to play a key role in this.
“We know this is where some of the largest participation growth opportunities are. We also know that it’s not just about growing those participation numbers, but also making sure that we’re enabling our leadership system to better reflect the future of the game,” says Boucher.
“It’s important that women and girls lead this change themselves, and that as an organisation we need to keep enabling and supporting them to do so. So I see the Emerging Leaders Programme as a fantastic way to build what our basketball community is telling us they want more of – strong, capable female leaders who are ambassadors for the young wahine wanting to play the game.”
2024 Emerging Leaders
Alice Clarkson, Canterbury Basketball Association
Amanda Snowball-Kelso, Franklin basketball Association
Anna Bourke, North Canterbury Basketball Association
Dani Egle-Bast, Wheelchair Basketball NZ
Darci Finnigan, North Harbour & BBNZHP
Eva Kelly, Mid Canterbury Basketball Association
Justice-Raine Haumaha, Whai
Karina Hemmington, Northland Basketball Association
Kiara Lianda, Tauranga Basketball Association
Madelin Brown, Otago Basketball Association
Maia Williamson, BBNZHP & Canterbury Basketball Association
Ramona Fuaiva’a, Auckland Basketball Association
Rebecca Drake, Southland Basketball Association
Roshan Uelese, Taylor Hawks &Hawkes Bay Basketball Association
Shannon Marie Maynard-Pourau, Manawatu Basketball Association
