WNBL awards life membership to Flame #23 Jodie Craig
The WNBL has announced that Sydney Flame #23 Jodie Craig (nee Smith) has been awarded life membership for her amazing commitment to the competition and sport at large.
Jodie, who debuted with the club in 1984 when they were still being run as the Bankstown Bruins, played 11 years for the Bruins and then the Sydney Flames (now owned by Hoops Capital) – including winning the 1993 championship.
The following year, in 1994, Jodie retired from playing (finishing with 231 games to her name) but returned to the Flames as team manager in 1997 – a role she held until the end of the 2012-13 campaign (with a small break from the end of 2001 to the start of 2004).
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As manager, Jodie was a part of the Flames’ championship teams of 1997 and 2000-01.
It’s because of this dedication to the sport that Jodie has been awarded life membership by the WNBL – which she will receive from Lorraine Landon (a lifetime friend and mentor) during a special presentation at half-time of Sydney’s Saturday, February 15 clash with Southside at Quaycentre.
“I can remember receiving an email in early January and being very surprised but delighted,” said Jodie, who also worked at Basketball Australia as the WNBL’s competition administrator from 2001-2003 and had a further stint at Basketball Australia from 2008 to 2010 as an administrator for Australian Junior Championships.
“It’s a great honour, one I’m very proud of and I thank Karen Dalton for nominating me for such a prestigious honour”.
“It will be a very special moment [to receive the life membership], especially in front of my husband, my two girls, my dad, my sister and friends who have all been there for the journey with me.
“Not to mention in front of all my basketball family and the fans I’ve seen in the stands over the past few decades.”
From Penrith, Jodie moved to the Bankstown Basketball Association as a 15-year-old, as their club had a national league team and legit pathway to the top women’s competition in the country.
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Her parents would drive her to and from training each week until Jodie got her own driver’s licence.
“A year after joining Bankstown, I moved into their senior women’s team and it wasn’t long after that that I joined the club’s national league team,” she said.
”It was a great club to be a part of, made up primarily of girls who grew up playing in that area, giving them an avenue to play in the best league the country had to offer.
“We were all great friends and I loved going away each weekend with our team – it was a great time in my life and I still consider those girls my friends, especially Amanda Giles (Faulkner), Michelle Austin (Landon) and Karen Dalton.
“Especially knowing that this was the competition that our national team was selected from to play on the international stage.”
Then in 1991, driven by the passion of Lorraine Landon, the WNBL licence was acquired by the Sydney Kings organisation under the guidance of Mike Wrublewski.
The WNBL team re-branded to the Sydney Flames which was the beginning of the professional avenue the sport was heading down.
Two years later, Wrublewski recruited a young coach named Carrie Graff, as well as out-of-towners Shelley Gorman, Trish Fallon, Robyn Maher and Gail Henderson to the Flames – marking the first time the team had consisted of non-NSW products.
Their impact was instant, with the club winning the first of its four WNBL championships that season.
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“It was 10 years in the making but that championship was amazing, especially considering most of us still worked full-time jobs,” said Jodie.
“I can still remember working all day and heading to Alexandria to train from 6.30pm at night.
“That team laid the foundations for the club’s future success, which I was lucky enough to be a part as manager.
“I’d like to think that time of the competition pioneered this great league in which we see all our amazing players play in today.”
Jodie also recalls Flames players Belinda Snell, Katie-Rae Ebzery, Ellyce Ironmonger and Tayla Roberts staying with her family during her stint as Flames manager and sharing many fond memories and milestones with them.
Jodie is still involved in basketball to this day, coaching juniors at Bankstown Basketball Association and working with Wheelchair Basketball Australia.
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Photo: Jodie Craig nee Smith (front row in the t-shirt) and her championship 1993 Flames team.