Club Mark

Mar 11 2022

NUIG Mystics latest club to achieve BI Bronze Club Mark

Basketball Ireland would like to congratulate NUIG Mystics on being the most recent club to achieve the Basketball Ireland Bronze Club Mark.

NUIG Mystics are the latest club to be awarded the Bronze Basketball Ireland Club Mark. We caught up with coach Kyle Walsh to talk about the club and its award.

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Club history

- Irish National Senior Cup Winner 2016

- Irish Division 1 Regular Season Champion 2016

- Irish Division 1 Champion 2016

- Irish Division 1 President Cup Winner 2022

- Irish Division 1 Southern Conference Champions 2022

Q: Can you tell us a bit about your club - how many teams do you have, when the club was founded and some achievements/highlights?

Foireann Chispheile na Gailimhe [NUIG Mystics] was founded in 2012. We currently only have a women's National League team, but hope to expand soon. The club has always consisted of a variety of different players from various Galway clubs. This allows the woman to play at the national league level, without taking them from their own club, as many players structure link in. This also allows for our players to go back and help their respective clubs

Q: What made you want to try and achieve the Basketball Ireland Club Mark?

We want to be able to hold ourselves to the highest standard possible to ensure the best practices and procedures throughout our club, all of which should help us progress as a club.

Q: How did you find the Basketball Ireland Club Mark process?

It was a long process to get all the correct paperwork in place, but we are sure it will be worth it in the long run.

Q: What challenges do you face in the club, if any?

Finding volunteers is our biggest challenge, as our club has no underage system. It can be hard to get people to help, as many of the people in the basketball community already do so much for their own clubs in Galway.

Q: What difference is the Basketball Ireland Club Mark going to make for your club?

The hope is that it is a stepping stone to the higher marks. Which in turn will make our club run as professionally as possible.

Q: Do you think you will engage with the Club Mark system and achieve all the way up to Platinum Club Mark? If so, what do you need to do to get your club to this stage?

Yes we will but it will take us some time, there is a few areas which we will need to do more work, most of which will be setting up a volunteer structure, additional events to raise funds for the club and the continuing development in all the different areas of the game (coaching development plan, player pathways and officials).

Q: What are the goals for the season ahead?

The goal for this season is to gain promotion to the Women's Super League.

Q: What would you say to other clubs thinking about getting involved in the Basketball Ireland Club Mark?

I would highly recommend the process as it promotes the best practice for clubs to take in order to develop on all levels (coaches, players ,officials and volunteers), all of which are required for basketball to grow.