Basketball Ireland and IWA Sport 'Women In Sport Leadership' initiative adopted by FIBA

Basketball Ireland's fully inclusive 'Women In Sport Leadership' programme, delivered in conjunction with IWA-Sport for the past two years by Lisa Clancy and Sharon O'Shea, has been adopted by basketball's world governing body, FIBA. 

The aim of the 'Women In Sport Leadership' programme is to provide training, guidance, and expertise to give women the platform to thrive in leadership positions in sport. It also gives women across the island of Ireland the opportunity to upskill, increase their confidence and network with those in similar positions.

Basketball Ireland are proud to partner with IWA-Sport on this programme as we continue our long-standing partnership. This course is the first time it was delivered between an able-bodied NGB and disability sport NGB. This has allowed for a great sharing of ideas and experiences between the participants of the course.

This course was designed and delivered by experienced consultants Lisa Clancy and Sarah O’Shea, who have worked at the highest levels in Irish sport. They also hold volunteer board positions as Vice-President of Paralympics Ireland and Honorary General Secretary of the Olympic Federation of Ireland respectively. Lisa and Sarah's delivery of the course impressed guest speakers from FIBA Europe, who subsequently invited the pair to deliver the FIBA WiLEAD programme, ending witha  workshop during the FIBA Women’s EuroBasket 2023 in Slovenia.

Speaking about her experience delivering the course, Lisa Clancy said: 

“Sport can drive change. It can also help us all to become more inclusive as a society. With a strong vision to ensure that we are represented proportionately as leaders in sport, we worked with Basketball Ireland and IWA-Sport to develop a fully inclusive leadership programme for women in basketball and women with a disability. We all can be effective leaders given the correct supports and skillsets and have a huge amount to learn for each other.  These courses have already yielded hugely impactful results and we look forward to monitoring the progress of our basketball participants in leadership positions in clubs, NGBs and at national and international level in sport.” 

Shannon Pollock, IWA-Sport Women In Sport Initiative co-ordinator said:

"The completion of the second round of the Sport Ireland funded “Women in Sport Leadership Course” took place in May this year.  For the second year in succession, Irish Wheelchair Association-Sport partnered with our good friends at Basketball Ireland in rolling out the programme.  Our partnership with Basketball Ireland has created many inclusive opportunities for our combined membership.  The positive engagement is highlighted in events like the InsureMyHouse.ie National Cup finals weekend, where our clubs share the limelight with mainstream clubs.  However, our partnership goes much deeper than these events.  The 'Women in Sport Leadership' course is an incredible opportunity for both organisations to build on this partnership, network with members from both communities and embrace each other’s values, while developing strong female leaders within both organisations. The success of this programme can be witnessed in our clubs and committees nationally and impacts positively on our organisation. Irish Wheelchair Association-Sport are looking forward to running this programme again in 2024, continuing the valued relationship with Basketball Ireland.” 

Erin Bracken, Basketball Ireland's Women In Sport Representative added:

“We have been delighted to work with Lisa and Sarah over the past year, and to partner with the IWA-Sport to deliver the 'Women in Sport Leadership' programme to our community. We have had over 20 women take part in the course adding various, invaluable leadership skills which will no doubt be crucial in driving our sport forward. Networking in sport is huge and we are extremely grateful for the opportunity to do so within our own community, with guest speakers, members of other sporting organisations and members of IWA-Sport. The feedback has been nothing but positive and we really look forward to rolling out the next course for more women to gain experience and knowledge on their leadership journey.”