Pursuant to its mandate to promote the development of local basketball, the Saint Lucia Basketball Federation has appointed two Athlete Representatives to its executive.
Garrick George and Mia George will forge a critical linkage between the basketball fraternity (potential, present, past athletes) and the SLBF executive in an effort to empower and encourage athlete participation and involvement in the movement and decision-making process of the federation. The two will be charged with ensuring that the viewpoint of athletes is represented in all SLBF policies, initiatives, and activities as well as supporting Athlete Development in their basketball and non-basketball careers.
Mia George, a regional 3×3 medalist, is the Female National Basketball captain and the founder and President of the all-girls basketball club, Net Blazers Basketball Club. She views the appointment as a great initiative taken by the federation. “I think it will greatly benefit the athletes in giving them a voice. I am honoured to take up that position and I look forward to working with the federation in that capacity to assist in the elevation of the sport.”
According to Twenty-one-year-old National player Garrick George, he is grateful for the opportunity and hopes to bridge the gap between athletes and the Federation. The young Shooting Guard currently plays with the Basketball for the Future Club and has represented the island a total of 7 times (4 Windward Island games, 3 3×3 tournaments).
Speaking on the appointments was President of the Saint Lucia Basketball Federation Leslie Collymore, “as a sporting Federation we believe it is very important that the athletes who we represent have a seat at the table. One of challenges we recognized is that for us to create a strong culture for our sport we must hear directly from the athletes and to accomplish that, we must have them actively involved in the development process; they must get the opportunity to share their experiences, make suggestions and be actively part of the process. Therefore having our athletes involved at the executive level we hope will bridge that gap, because what we do now will ultimately affect their generation and generations to come.”
Both Athlete Representatives will serve in accordance and in conjunction with the Saint Lucia Basketball Federation executive as per the constitution.