First of all, I’d like to say thank you to everyone who has taken the time to read our 2018/19 Annual Report.
We have seen some real highs on the court over this year, the Men’s team travelled to the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast and reached the Bronze medal match – the first time a team from Scotland had done so in the history of the Games. GB Wheelchair teams delivered outstanding performances at the World Championships and we congratulate Robyn leading the Senior Women to a silver medal. Throughout the domestic season, we have seen continued growth in club basketball and some high-quality basketball being played by clubs across Scotland.
Off the court, the last 12 months have been challenging in many respects.
With regard to governance, it has been a year of change at Board level, which I believe has now led to the establishment of a strong Board of Directors. We have proactively recruited Directors with expertise required to fill gaps we had on the Board. We welcomed four new Directors during the year; Craig Chambers (commercial expertise), Robyn Love (disability basketball expertise), Doug Folan (talent development and performance expertise) and Stephen McCall (business systems expertise). In addition, Marc Shenken joined the board as a Financial Advisor and Gordon Mavor who provides our day to day accountancy service, has also attended all meetings.
Following last year’s financial results, we have taken a proactive approach in this area. While we delivered an operating surplus above budget, we have taken the required steps to allow us to present a clear picture of the association’s finances. This is detailed in the financial reporting. We now have a very clear picture of where we are financially and are confident of delivering financial targets over the next 24 months that get us back to where we want to be.
The last 12 months of Board activity have seen much focus on three key areas: finance, British Basketball Federation (BBF) and future strategy.
The BBF has stabilised significantly over the last year and costs have been reduced to minimal levels which unfortunately needed to happen to protect the Federation and its members. We are working closely with the BBF and colleagues in England and Wales to see if there is a viable and sustainable long-term model for the BBF.
Despite our current strategy running until 2022, the Board took the decision to review this early and have now initiated that process. Early in the 19-20 financial year, we will start to engage with clubs and partners on future direction and we will welcome your input into the long-term direction of basketball in Scotland.
Beyond formal compliance with the quality and quantity of information expected from a company like basketballscotland, the production process of this document provides us with a broadened perspective to reflect about the challenges we have faced in the year, and with an opportunity to adapt and improve our approach to these challenges.
We want to use the Report as a communication tool. A tool that helps us explain our business and get closer to our stakeholders, from our largest funders to the student willing to make a career in our game.
Moreover, we believe our values are fundamental to our sport, those values say who we are and what can be expected from us as a Board in the future. Importantly, as you have seen in the report, we are part of a global sporting family. Our workforce and our membership is composed of people from different nationalities, making our sporting culture particularly rich.
I hope you enjoy the read, and we look forward to receiving your comments through the contact information included at the end of the Report.
