July 19 2021 marked Basketball Queensland’s (BQ) Diamond Jubilee, recognising 75 years of an organised state governing body overseeing basketball in Queensland.

From our humble beginnings as the Queensland Amateur Basketball Association (QABA) in 1946 through to the formation of Basketball Queensland, our rich history has seen basketball thrive, cementing our place in the Queensland sporting landscape.

Today the sport boasts more than 35 associations across the state with over 46,000 players, officials and coaches involved in our great game, plus countless more administrators and volunteers.

“It’s a great honour to lead Basketball Queensland into our Diamond Jubilee this year, celebrating the history and milestones of our great game and organisation that has shaped who we are today,” BQ Chief Executive Officer Graham Burns said.

“I’ve been with BQ for more than 17 years and during that time I have seen the organisation undergo a great number of changes, each one designed to create more opportunities and pathways for our participants to get involved, develop and stay in the game.

“I couldn’t be prouder when I look back at what has been achieved in the last 75 years and look forward to witnessing the future growth and potential of basketball unleashed even further.”

To celebrate our 75th Anniversary we launched 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗿𝘀: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗛𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗕𝗮𝘀𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗯𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗤𝘂𝗲𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱 at our Parliamentary Friends of Basketball event in September.

A special thanks to the Hon. Stirling Hinchliffe MP, Bart Mellish MP, Neil Hamilton-Smith, and BQ Chairman Nicola Ellis for speaking at the event and to co-authors Dr. Stephen Townsend and Dr. Murray G. Phillips from The University of Queensland.

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