Flame burns bright for Riverina’s female basketballers

Female basketballers from across the Riverina have trained with and learnt from Australia’s best at the Brydens Sydney Flames’ Her Flame Burns Bright basketball clinic at Wagga Wagga yesterday.

The program, supported by the NSW Government, features a junior clinic, coach’s clinic and leadership program.

Nationals MLC, Wes Fang, said the booked out Her Flame Burns Bright program was a great opportunity for the local community to learn new skills from some of Australia’s best basketballers.

“It is great to see so many young people getting the opportunity to learn from current and former Sydney Flames players, while also having fun and being active in a supportive environment”, Mr Fang said.

“Initiatives like this help to keep girls engaged in sport and provides an opportunity for our region to unearth the next Sydney Flame or Australian Opal.”

90 girls attended the junior clinic in Wagga Wagga, led by Basketball Australia’s Centre of Excellence assistant coach Sarah Graham and Flames players Lauren Scherf and Funda Nakkasoglou

Minister for Sport Geoff Lee said the NSW Government was committed to supporting the drive for change in women’s sport through programs like Her Flame Burns Bright.

“The NSW Government is breaking down barriers in women’s sport,” Mr Lee said.

“We are proud to support innovative programs like Her Flame Burns Bright which are getting more women and girls involved in sport, both on and off the court.”

Karen Dalton, General Manager of the Brydens Sydney Uni Flames, said the opportunity of bringing our Opals’ and Flames’ role models to regional NSW will help support the long term growth of the sport.

“We would like to thank the NSW government for their support in enabling us to reach and impact our young regional female basketballers.”

With the aim of increasing female participation and retention in NSW, the program will be delivered in 10 locations over the next three years to more than 2,000 female basketballers and coaches.

Her Flame Burns Bright supports the NSW Government’s vision for the future of women’s sport. The Her Sport Her Way strategy aims to increase female participation, invest in female-friendly facilities, maximise investment and increase the number of women in leadership.

For further information on Her Sport Her Way visit: https://www.sport.nsw.gov.au/hersportherway