2023 Perth Basketball Association AGM + President's Report

The 2023 Perth Redbacks AGM was held on Monday 27 November at Mondos in Belmont.

There were three items on the agenda:

1. Ratification of 2023 AGM Minutes

A resolution that the Minutes of the Annual General Meeting held on Thursday 1 December 2022 was accepted.

2. Treasurer’s Report

The 2023 PBA Treasurer, Rob Pyne, presented an overview of the performance for the 2023 financial year. It was noted that the 2023 Audited Financial Statements will be made available on request to Rob.

3. Appointment of Office Bearers
The Constitution of the Perth Basketball Association requires all positions be vacated annually. Before the 2023 AGM, nominations were called for all Board positions. At the 2023 AGM, the following Office Bearers were elected unopposed:

President: Anthony Nixon
Vice President: Amien Sym
Treasurer: Rob Pyne
Secretary: Jennifer Saliacus
General Directors:
- Nathan Barns (NBL1)
- Adrian Warner (WABL)
- James Elder (Domestic)
- Simon Woods (Commercial and Sponsorship)

PBA would like to congratulate and thank the 2024 Board Members for their past and upcoming service to the club. PBA would especially like to acknowledge the service of outgoing director Kelly Exeter who has decided to step off the Board after four years, but will continue to support the club in communications and in the WABL program.

The AGM concluded after the above, and a General Meeting was then held at which Anthony Nixon presented his President’s Report for 2023. Here is that report.

2023 President’s Report

It is a pleasure to provide the 2023 President’s Report on behalf of the Perth Basketball Association (PBA) Board.

I would like to start by thanking the Life Members and the wider club for their incredible support of the Board this year.

In my time as President, the Board and staff have maintained a consistent focus on these key areas:

Financial diligence and financial stability
Our future and where we will be in five years.
Strong processes around how we make decisions and run the club
Club culture – how we treat each other, and how we talk to and about each other

I am proud that we have once again made great progress in each of these areas.

PBA Board

Over the past few years, the PBA Board has evolved from needing to be very ‘hands-on’ with regard to day-to-day club operations, to taking more of a strategic focus as paid staff take up the operational load of running our club.

While all areas of our association have benefited from this evolution, our Domestic competition has been perhaps the area of greatest strategic focus for 2023. I would like to acknowledge the considerable work our Domestic Director James Elder has put into conducting the most thorough review of our Domestic competition I’ve seen in my time on the Board. Input was received from parents, participants, club heads, PBA staff and Basketball WA. The outcomes, which are being rolled out in a staged fashion, will deliver an elevation in competition sustainability, quality, culture and governance. A huge thank you to James, Harrison Marino (PBA Competitions Manager) and Ryan Lenegan (PBA CEO) for their commitment to driving this elevation.

I would like to thank all 2023 Board members for their significant contributions over the past year:

Amien Sym – Vice President
Rob Pyne – Treasurer
Jennifer Saliacus – Secretary
Nathan Barns – NBL1 Director
Adrian Warner – WABL Director
James Elder – Domestic Director
Simon Woods – Sponsorship/Commercial Director
Kelly Exeter – Communications Director

I’m pleased to share that all of the above, except Kelly, re-nominated for 2024 and were confirmed at the 2023 AGM. Thus the 2024 PBA Board is:

Anthony Nixon – President
Amien Sym – Vice President
Rob Pyne – Treasurer
Jennifer Saliacus – Secretary
Nathan Barns – NBL1 Director
Adrian Warner – WABL Director
James Elder – Domestic Director
Simon Woods – Sponsorship/Commercial Director

While Kelly has decided to step aside from the PBA Board after four years to free up some headspace, she’s not going anywhere and will continue to support the club with regard to communications and WABL.

With so many directors continuing – a blessing for stability – a focus for 2024 will be to:

Review the skills matrix of the board in line with the shift to a less operational and more strategic focus
Identify the next group of directors to replace current directors as they will look to step down in the future as part of normal board transitions over time.

PBA Business Plan

The Perth Basketball Association Business Plan identifies seven key pillars:

Participation
Competition
Development
Performance
Commercial
Governance
Facilities

Each pillar has goals, measures and strategic focus that guide the Board.

This year has seen our association take major steps forward in professionalising our operations under the diligent guidance of our CEO Ryan Lenegan.

Below is a brief summary of the key aspects of each pillar and how we delivered on that pillar in 2023.

Pillar 1: Participation

Focus: Outbound participation (schools, LGAs, indigenous, inclusion)

Another record-breaking year in schools, with programs delivered across 10 LGAs to more than 5,000 participants.
Continuation of the PBA Basketball Careers Program – upskilling of high school aged students in playing, coaching and refereeing
Community programs in conjunction with the Town of Victoria Park, City of Canning, Edmund Rice Centres WA and Loftus Centre for inclusion programs.
Expansion of the Ngalak First Nations Program, including the first ever PBA Indigenous Bursaries.

Focus: Inbound participation (Spiderlings, Aussie Hoops, Holiday programs, emerging programs)

Sustained Aussie Hoops participation – second largest provision of Aussie Hoops in the state (Basketball Australia’s official junior development program for 5–10-year-olds)
Regular and consistent employment of more than 20 Community Coaches, supporting the next generation of Redbacks coaches.

Pillar 2: Competitions

Focus: Domestic competition that is sustainable, valued, aligned to values and professionally managed

2022/23 Summer Domestic Competition: 254 teams, 2075 participants
2023 Winter Domestic Competiton: 166 teams, 1358 participants
Significant upskilling and professionalism of PBA domestic staff

Focus: WABL competition management

32 WABL teams with an average of 14 home games per week in the season

Focus: NBL1 game night is well attended, valued by attendees and aligned to PBA values

Largest NBL1 home crowd ever recorded (651)
New records set in gate takings, bar takings and average attendance

Pillar 3: Development

Focus: PBA players are developed in alignment with the five pillars of Redbacks basketball

Introduction of the Perth Basketball Academy
Introduction of the Norm Major Development Wheel

Focus: PBA coaches are developed in alignment with the five pillars of Redbacks basketball

Bespoke coaching handbooks for the men’s and women’s programs released
Weekly coach support via Heads of Basketball
End-of-season coaching review pilot program
Men’s and Women’s head of program staff and now General Manager of Basketball.

Focus: PBA officials (referees/scorers) – recruitment, education, retention, recognition

A successful recruitment program saw the largest number of green-shirt referees ever
Referee pay scales reviewed and adjusted
Referee of the Month awards introduced

Pillar 4: Performance

Focus: General

Introduction of the PBA NBL1 Pathways program
Alignment of terminology from WABL through to NBL1

Focus: NBL1 Women’s Program

Challenging season with our Head Coach Michelle Fletcher resigning mid-season.
Huge gratitude to Jason Smith for taking on the interim Head Coach role and leading the team through to the end of the season
Ended the season on a high note with three wins in a row to finish with a 4-16 record.

Focus: NBL1 Men’s Program

Season 1 with new men’s Head Coach Charles Nix
Some outstanding wins and nailbiting losses in what was a very tight competition saw us finish in 5th spot at the end of the season
Incredible wins in our home game elimination final and the away semi-final win against Hawks were highlights. A tough turnaround road trip to Geraldton for our preliminary final saw us end the season at the hands of the eventual Championship winners, the Buccaneers.

Pillar 5: Governance

Focus: PBA board members are strategic in their management of the association, upskilled in their abilities and adhere to standardised processes.

Governance workshop conducted with support from BWA
Budget adherence with minimal variance
A significant upgrade in the coding of accounts to allow better management of finances.
Board calendar, policies and procedures finalised.

Focus: PBA staff are clear on expectations, collectively and individually, and upskilled in their ability to exceed these expectations.

Ongoing professionalisation of the PBA workforce
Standard work processes embedded into the business.

Focus: Affiliates, including domestic clubs, are aware of and supported with governance requirements.

‘Right to Play’ document introduced for domestic clubs to strengthen governance.
Tighter management of behavioural issues around competitions.

Pillar 6: Facilities

Focus: Current facility arrangements are maintained and leveraged.

Ongoing usage of 45+ venues on any given week
Scheduling software was introduced to reduce staffing burden.

Focus: New facility use to support growth is researched, considered and finalised

The Rise, Churchlands, and Trinity Foley Centre were all added to regular programming
Wesley College will begin construction on a new indoor sports centre in the near future. Perth Redbacks is a key community partner.

Focus: The home of the Perth Redbacks is confirmed via community consultation, political lobbying and financial sustainability.

PBA is the stated number 1 priority by BWA for state and federal investment.
We have now identified a preferred site and begun the process with strong support at the state and federal level.
Strong community network support including Curtin University, Como Secondary, Kent Street High, Reds Volleyball, Wesley College

Pillar 7: Commercial

Focus: Partners

More than $200,000 procured in sponsorship
Three major partners (Bendigo Bank North Perth, Blasta Brewing, Guzman y Gomez)

Focus: Fundraising and Events

Successful pre-season fundraising events with the NBL1 teams
Successful WABL breakfast – 530 attendees

Focus: Merchandise (design, storage, auditing, shop front)

Opening of a new physical shop front at Leisurelife
New merchandise campaign, very popular with fans

Focus: Communications

Continued priority focus of the business
Ongoing growth in social media and content generation

2023 PBA Summary Snapshot

450 Domestic Teams
9 Domestic Clubs
4000 domestic players
3 Domestic Venues
40+ training and club venues
30+ WABL teams
500 WABL players and support staff
Men’s and Women’s NBL1 Teams
50 NBL1 players and support staff
Record home game crowds
61474 live stream views with 1,271,011 viewing minutes
Operation over 7+ inner city Local Government Areas
Participation programs with a record number of participants
Record sponsorship levels
Record social media impressions
Continued financial growth
Record investment in staffing for administration, competitions, participation and development

While we have a record number of waiting lists for players wanting to play in our Domestic competition, we took the incredibly hard decision to downsize our summer competition back to 210 teams to minimise volunteer, administrator, player and parent burnout across three locations on Saturdays.

Closing

I again want to thank every one of you for your commitment to making this year one of our best ever.

This club is now a multi-faceted and complex business, with a strong complement of staff, amazing sponsors and corporates and continued growth.

Celebrating our 60th year in 2024 will look to bring people back to the club and we look forward to celebrating this milestone together.

I am so proud that we continue to INVEST in our future with the right structures and staff to meet the growing demand, and all supported by amazing volunteers, a diligent board and a great club who continue to work to ensure we can all have a great experience in a safe environment.

Thank you for your support in 2023 and here is to great success in all programs in 2024.