The British Basketball Union LLP (BBU) is a commercial partnership between British Performance Basketball, responsible for the Great Britain national teams, the British Basketball League, responsible for the top men's league in Great Britain, and the national governing bodies for England and Scotland, England Basketball and Basketball Scotland.
The BBU will act as a first stop shop for anyone seeking to get involved in the sport, whether supporting the national teams, looking to watch competitive League basketball, seeking basketball participation opportunities, or looking at coaching or volunteering opportunities. In addition, the BBU will seek sport wide opportunities with potential sponsorship and media partners through a new strategic marketing approach, summarized in the strap-line 'Closer to the Action'.
Kevin Routledge, a Director of the BBU for the BBL said, "This is a very important step forward for the sport. We are all tremendously excited about the prospects for basketball in this country, in light of the spotlight of London 2012, and as a unified sport we believe we can provide a service to those interested in the sport, particularly those catalysed by the Olympics."
Simon Tuckey, a Director of BBU for BPB said, "Basketball has a great opportunity to take a big step forward this year, and, as a sport we are absolutely determined to seize it. Our 'Closer to the Action' focuses really on what makes our sport uniquely attractive - high class, athletic action, you can almost touch - something other sports struggle to match. We want to make it very easy for everyone fired up by London 2012 to be able to easily engage in the sport, and the BBU will make that happen."
Keith Mair, the EB designate Director of the BBU said, "We are very pleased to be a founding member of the British Basketball Union and look forward to working together towards increasing the profile and commercial viability of the sport. This is an exciting time for basketball and England Basketball welcomes the challenges and opportunities that British participation at the London Olympics will provide as we grow the game through a common brand."
Kevin Pringle, the BS designate Director of the BBU said, "Basketball in Scotland is in a very good position, and we believe the BBU will further enhance our sport. By working together, the main entities in our sport will be able to make it very easy for the young and old, to better find out about the opportunities to play, coach, volunteer or be a spectator, and we are absolutely delighted to be fully supporting this great initiative."
The British Basketball Union newly launched website is at www.britishbasketballunion.com and you can follow the BBU on http://on.fb.me/BBUofficial track us on twitter @BBUofficial
About British Basketball Union LLP
The BBU has representatives from BPB, BBL, EB and BS. It's vision is to improve and enhance the basketball customer experience, and to create and deliver common tools to engage and mobilize the basketball community in Great Britain. The current Board comprises Simon Tuckey, Commercial Director of BPB, Kevin Routledge, Director of BBL, Keith Mair CEO of EB, and Kevin Pringle, CEO of BS. The BBU was established in January 2012, and Kevin Routledge is the current Chairman.
About British Performance Basketball
British Basketball has been in existence since December 2007, tasked with the objective of steering the Great Britain men's and women's basketball teams through to the London 2012 Olympic Games. The summer of 2008 saw British Basketball take a great stride on the world basketball stage when the senior men's team, consisting of players with world-class pedigree such as Luol Deng and Pops Mensah-Bonsu, competed in the A Division of EuroBasket and secured a place in the 2009 European Finals in Poland. In the same year, British Basketball also launched the 'Game On' high performance strategy with endorsement and approval from all the home nations. This strategy brought together the key stakeholders in developing a single coherent pathway to develop talented youngsters across Britain and to grow the game. In 2010, both the Standard Life GB teams qualified for their respective EuroBasket 2011 tournaments. The GB women went on to make history, in their first ever appearance at this tournament, as they reached the second round of the championship, the furthest any GB team has gone in the competition. On 13 March 2011 in Lyon, France, FIBA's Secretary General, Patrick Baumann announced that both the men's and the women's teams could take up their host nation places in the London Olympic Games. It was a historic announcement which means that for the first time since 1948 there will be GB basketball teams at the Olympic Games.
About the British Basketball League
The BBL - British Basketball League - is an independent company, owned by its member clubs, which has run the top men's professional league in the UK since 1987. It operates a system of franchises over the UK stretching from Plymouth in the south west to Glasgow north of the border. The BBL is a major contributor to the development of the sport at all levels, through the BBL Foundation, and its member clubs place a large emphasis on work undertaken in their local communities. The 2011/12 season is the League's 25th and was a great success both on and off the playing court.
More about BBL at www.bbl.org.uk. Follow the BBL on facebook and twitter at http://www.facebook.com/BBLofficial & http://twitter.com/bblofficial
About England Basketball
Founded in 1936, England Basketball is the governing body for basketball in England with a vision to provide "Basketball for All" by encouraging and enabling people to participate regardless of their ability, age, gender, status, disability or ethnic background from the grassroots to international. The England Basketball head office is in Sheffield and there is a structure based around ten regions, within which there are approximately 800 affiliated basketball clubs and a professional and volunteer structure for growing the game and improving the quality of the participants.
More on England Basketball at www.englandbasketball.co.uk
About Basketball Scotland
basketballscotland is the recognised National Governing Body for basketball in Scotland and has responsibility for the development and promotion of all levels of the game in Scotland, from grass roots to international. Having established a professional staffing structure covering the length and breadth of the country, basketball in Scotland has seen significant growth over the past 3 years and currently has a particular focus on growing youth basketball.
More about basketballscotland at www.basketball-scotland.com
