Philipsburg:---Officials of the various Basketball Associations met with Commissioner of Sports Maria Buncamper-Molanus to apprise her of board changes, future activities and other relevant issues pertaining to the associations.
Present were outgoing President of the St. Maarten Basketball Association (SMBBA) Emmanuel York, President of the St. Maarten Youth Basketball Association (SMYBBA) Gordon St. Luce, board member of the SMYBBA Jamal Newton and candidate for President of the SMBA Daniel Berry. Absent was the other candidate for the Presidency of the SMBBA Elvin Lake.
York explained that since his appointment as President of the Netherlands Antilles Basketball Federation (NABFE) in January 2009, he has decided to step down as president of SMBBA and take up an advisory role in the board of SMBBA. As such, there are two candidates for the position of president of SMBA, Berry and Lake. Elections will soon be held among the teams that are members of the association. The SMBBA will approach the Sports Federation to ask them to oversee these elections.
Both the SMBBA and the SMYBBA indicated to the Commissioner that the fees for the LB Scott Sports Auditorium absorbs most of their budget and that they would like to get some kind of a reduction in fees or assistance with the payment of these fees.
The Commissioner encouraged them to look at alternative ways of getting funding as the Foundation Upkeep Sports Facilities, the entity that manages the auditorium, also needed the funds to pay off there loans and upkeep costs. Berry indicated that he had an elaborate business plan that, when executed, would be able to cover all the costs and this would be able to cover costs for the senior basketball players as well as the juniors.
The meeting also focused on the fact that St. Maarten has strong basketball talent and athletes, but is lacking in overall structure which hampers becoming membership in the Internatinal Basketball Federation (FIBA). Many teams, for example, are not registered at the notary.
Buncamper-Molanus suggested that the SMBA explore the possibility of establishing and enforcing a new criteria that stipulates only teams that are registered at the notary may participate in the local competition. Also the choice of legal establishment, foundation or association, was discussed. The advantage of becoming an association with members, the Commissioner said, is that the members can feel a sense of ownership in the organization.
Turning to upcoming competitions, the Commissioner was briefed on the Antillean Championships which is scheduled to take place on St. Maarten form November 6 to10, 2009, leading up to St. Maarten's Day.
The Caribbean Basketball Confederation (CBC) tournament was also scheduled to take place in St. Maarten in July 2009, however Curacao and St. Eustatius have indicated that they are not ready as yet for that tournament. St. Maarten can always participate wherever the tournament will be played. However, the President of the CBC would really like for the tournament to be held in St. Maarten and has not been successful in securing another host island as yet.
The Commissioner encouraged Emanuel York, in his new capacity as President of the NABFE to push for St. Maarten to still host the tournament as this will be very beneficial to St. Maarten having so many people from the regional islands present.
"I must say that currently there is definitely unity in basketball on St. Maarten and I am very please with this. The more cooperation we have the quicker and more efficient the sport of basketball will develop. I extend the best of luck to all of the associations and assure them that my involvement and support is there whenever they need it," the Commissioner concluded.