PRESIDENT'S REPORT

Hello & welcome to the 2022 Exies-Acmy Annual General Meeting.

I would like to formally welcome our Life Members, Executive & General Committee Members, Sponsors, Coaches, Members & families.

It is incredible to think that we are twelve months past our last AGM, and we look back fondly at the achievements of our members & volunteers over this time.

Participation numbers are on the rise which is fantastic. For the 2022 Championship Season we had 271 Junior Players across 37 Teams, increasing to 310 Junior Players across 41 Teams for the 2022-2023 Summer Season. In our senior grades we 3 senior teams in the 2022 Championship Season, increasing to 6 teams for the 2022-2023 Summer Season.

We have had 33 junior players participate with the local JET program (up from 27 in the previous year) which is a terrific achievement. I would also like to acknowledge Jemma Amoore for her commitment & achievements with the Ballarat Miners, and also Georgia Amoore having phenomenal success in the US playing college basketball for the Virginia Tech Hokies, making the final four in the recent NCAA tournament. Congratulations to all Exies members who were selected for further representative programs. 

For many of our members, seeing life member Robyn Maher be inducted into the FIBA Hall of Fame in November 2022 was a well-deserved recognition of Robyn’s success throughout her career, both on the local, national & international stage. A wonderful achievement for Robyn & family.

In November 2022 we had eight Exies-Acmy coaches undertake the Level 1 Coaching Accreditation course. Funding was obtained via a grant the club secured to cover the course costs. To have the opportunity for our coaches to improve their knowledge and understanding of the game was terrific. Pleasingly, the majority of coaches who attended have been involved with our newer junior members or in the girls’ program, which will surely pay dividends for years to come.

We welcome Marissa Ford into the role of Girls Coordinator. Marissa continues a long line of family tradition for the Gilbert family, from early days in the formation of Exies-Acmy to Marissa dominating on the courts herself, and continuing with Marissa’s family playing now. A wonderful basketball family who continues to value add to our club & members. Welcome Marissa!

With this, Meg Clark after many years as Girls Coordinator will be stepping down from the role, but is still staying on the match committee. Meg has been an unbelievable ambassador for the girls’ program. Her efforts & energy have shaped the club and many members in ways that I am sure are impossible to measure. Meg, we thank you for everything you have done and will continue to do.

In partnership with iAthletic, we introduced new uniforms for the Summer 2022-2023 season with every player now has a reversible singlet and females have a more favourable ‘female cut’ uniform with slight variances to singlet design & short style. Our new Uniforms Coordinator, Letitia Meaney was thrown a massive curve ball when we decided to implement a new uniform for all members in both the Junior & Senior competitions. The work undertaken by Letitia has been nothing short of exceptional, and personally I want to thank her for the dedication & effort in ensuring each and every member is happy with what they have.

As with the previous year, we celebrated the end of the year with a Christmas party at Lake Wendouree Football Club in December, 2022. Somewhat different from last year in that the weather wasn’t as kind, but with the accommodation of the Lake Wendouree Football Club we were able to adapt and move indoors. We had approximately 200 members attend, which highlighted the strength of the Exies community & ability to adapt and embrace. Thank you to our committee for pulling it all together & for the second year running a massive thank you to Jane Miller & the Eclectic Tastes team for co-ordinating the food for us to enjoy.



We continue to have a healthy & collaborative relationship with the BBA. It has been a strong focus for us to ensure we engage and continue to partner with the BBA, supporting the roles we both play in delivering the game we love for our families. Anything to be discussed is done with a healthy respect and while some discussions are robust, we share the same goal. A thank you to Neville, Ben, Joel, Amber & team for their continue support of our club & members.

This is my second year as President and it continually surprises me as to the amount of work that happens in the background to ensure all runs smoothly on ‘gameday’. I value & recognise all committee members contribution to the Exies-Acmy program and thank you all for you unwavering commitment to club & kids. We all do it for the kids, as have those who held positions prior. Our responsibility is to continually grow the passion for the game, engage and educate, so all members have the opportunity to enjoy.

It takes great people to make a great club. To our coaches & team managers, we thank you for your energy, time and commitment. There is a joy being involved in the game & also helping the kids learn and develop their skills. You all do it in such a positive way and I’m sure the smiles make it all worthwhile.

Our families are simply amazing. Kids these days are very busy, and quite often do more than one sport meaning the ‘mum, dad or grandparents’ taxi’s’ are sometimes working overtime. Thank you for everything you do.

As we all know, Basketball is an amazing sport that offers so much more than a win or loss. I am so lucky to be working with the passionate people we have at Exies-Acmy, who continue to offer our members every opportunity & am equally exited to keep building for the year ahead.