REPORT: SCHOOL LEAGUES & COMPETITIONS 2022/23
Introduction:
The LBA Leagues and competitions were able to make a successful return for the 2022/23 season. In this report we aim to showcase our success, the challenges we overcame as well as what we look to do in the future.
The LBA was able to form new partnerships with Greenhouse Sports, as well as continue the strong relationship with Westminster city council and London youth. Such partnerships enabled the LBA to be heavily involved in the delivery of the LBA Westminster League, the LBA X Greenhouse League along with the London youth 3×3 tournament.
The LBA had the privilege of working with numerous coaches, teachers and organisations to ensure that players had a league that was fun, accessible and competitive. The LBA approximately had 631 unique players, 200 of which were women.
One of the greatest parts of the competitions was that the LBA was able to continue the implementation of the R.O.C programme, while also beginning to see the results locally. The LBA believes that every player should be R.O.C in Basketball (referee, table official and coach). Thanks to this programme, players and students within the league have had access to courses at a discounted rate via allofficialslearn.co.uk. As a result former players/students have begun to officiate games themselves and be paid through AllOfficials. We are also beyond proud to announce that a former player in the LBA Westminster league is now coaching one of the teams that take part! The LBA are excited to see what steps they take in their future coaching career.
OVERALL FACTS AND FIGURES:
Michael Jordan Brand: The LBA has had continued support through the the Jordan Brand, thanks to them we were able to gift Jordan gear as prizes for players taking part in the leagues
AllOfficials.co.uk: Have supported us with their services, which has made the hiring of sports officials a much smoother process. They also allow us to offer basketball accreditation courses at up to 100% discounted rates- these include referee, table official courses and coaching courses.
- 631 unique players this season
- 104 games played across 6 leagues during September 2022 – July 2023 season.
The league categories included:
LBA Westminster League: U14 & U16 had male & female divisions, in the borough of Westminster
London Youth 3×3 tournament: In collaboration with London youth the LBA was able to run a one day 3×3 tournament for U19 Boys, U15 Boys and U15 Girls. The LBA U15 Boys were able to place second. 20 teams from 10 charitable organisations were able to take part with over 100 participating. For more information click here London youth 3×3
LBA Westminster School League:
The LBA League for the 2022/2023 season was a great success. Across the U14 and U16 age groups 11 schools were able to take part . This resulted in 26 teams being involved. All in all the LBA were able to complete 47 games with few cancellations.
The LBA were able to involve students in the table officiating process. This resulted in schools reaching out to officially qualify their students as table officials. A service that the LBA has been able to facilitate through all officials.co.uk. The LBA also had the privilege of sending down LBA volunteers and interns to carry out and support our marketing on match days.
Thanks to the continued efforts of our LBA team, the schools and Westminster city council we were able to complete the qualifiers and finals before the start of the exam season. This allowed students to take part in the league without taking away their academic focus.
Mid season cup:
The American School in London who have supported the LBA over numerous years were able to host the Midseason Finals for the LBA Westminster league. This event saw four different schools face off for the chance to qualify for the London school games. The American School of London was a dominant force, taking the clean sweep winning all four categories. A special shout out goes to the U14 Boys teams, after qualifying they went on to be crowned champions of the London school Games. A huge congratulations to them.
LBA Westminster League Finals:
After completing the qualifiers for the London School games, the season started back up after the Christmas holidays. All teams had the goal of qualifying to play in the finals. The LBA with the help of Westminster Academy were able to host the U14 Girls final. They showcased their grit and were able to be crowned champions of Westminster.
Due to an unfortunate lack of U16 girls teams the LBA was unable to carry out a finals for them. However, Southbank International, another key supporter of the LBA, were able to host the finals for the U16 and U14 Boys categories. The event was an amazing success that was competitive from start to finish. LBA volunteers were able to carry out marketing on the day, the LBA also had a student who got qualified as a table official volunteering his services at the finals.
Westminster Academy had a strong showing winning the U14 Girls and U16 Boys categories, they were unable to complete the sweep with St. Georges U14 Boys edging out Westminster Academy through an impressive display of 3 point shooting in the last few minutes of the game.
Next season, the LBA are looking to move away from our cluster format to re-focus on traditional matches. The aim is to increase the quality of games for students while increasing the flexibility for schools to organize matches within their unique schedules.
Notes:
Feedback forms were given to the players, coaches and organisers. Below are the results.
- 70% of respondents rated an 8 out of 10 or above in a positive league experience
- 76% of respondents rated our communication as an 8 out of 10 or above
- 82% of respondents rated their likelihood to return for next season as a 8 out of 10 or above
LBA X Greenhouse League:
The LBA and Greenhouse partnered for the first time to deliver an U14 Boys and Girls league. The league was a great success. We were told by our partners at Greenhouse that it was the first time the league had been finished in years. We are so proud to have been able to successfully finish the League.
We give a huge thanks to the Greenhouse schools for committing to the league. The success of the league was due in part to the communication efforts made by the LBA, despite starting late into the school calendar. The LBA was able to oversee and complete 43 games, with 44% being U14 Girls games. Around 320 emails were sent between Greenhouse and LBA staff to ensure that all the games went ahead.
The highlight of the season was being able to host the semi finals and finals for the boys and girls category all on the same day at Brampton Manor Academy. Six games were able to take place with the other finalists watching in anticipation.
Our marketing team was able to gather interviews, pictures and highlights of the day. A key standout is Kumaran, a marketing intern with the LBA. Was able to put together an incredible season wrap up video showcasing the event. Here is a link to that video
In the future we aim to deliver the league earlier into the school year to prevent any confusion and reduce any cancellations. The LBA plans to increase the level of marketing during the regular season, being able to showcase the work the LBA carries out not only benefits the LBA, it also allows players and coaches to look back highlights, interviews and articles throughout the season.
All officials support:
The LBA through allofficials, was able to secure referees for teams involved in the International schools league. Our key success was being successful in securing referees for all 43 of The American School in London’s home fixtures as well two, all day tournaments. This meant that we were able to supply 71 referee jobs for this league alone.
All in all allofficials were able to supply officials for over 100 games organised by the LBA, for the 2022/23 Season
THE FUTURE:
The LBA loves to support the future talent of London’s Basketball players. The LBA understands that such events go beyond the game of Basketball. Having these leagues in place allow children to form healthy habits for life, form new friendships as well as being exposed to future career opportunities.
The LBA have had to scale back league involvement due in part to available funding. With this in mind, the goal is to run competitions that allow the schools to be empowered during the scheduling process. Achieving this will allow the LBA to support Basketball in other ways across London
The LBA is looking into the development of Women’s 3×3 tournaments. The hope is to reintegrate the college/sixth form programmes with the sole focus of boosting the participation of women’s involvement in the sport. The LBA is hopeful to reintegrate such programs for future seasons, this will largely depend on funding available.
The LBA will continue to support the R.O.C framework for the leagues we run along with promoting this opportunity to other leagues across London, that the LBA does not have a direct impact on. By doing this The LBA is not only providing job opportunities for the community, we are also addressing the issue regarding a lack of officials in the basketball workforce. It is the hope of the LBA that 1000 R.O.C’s will be qualified by 2025
THANK YOU:
A massive thank you to everyone who was involved in the leagues, the LBA is not able to run without the commitment from the teachers, coaches and players who continue to take part in the Leagues that the LBA run.
A huge thank you to Sarah McDermott who departed from the LBA earlier this year, in her absence Lukas. Our assistant project manager was able to finish the leagues and looks forward to seeing the progress that can be made for next year. Shout out to all the volunteers and interns who were able to offer support at the matches.
We thank Angela and Johnathan of Westminster city council for providing the funding that enables the LBA to run the Westminster League, furthermore we would like to express our gratitude to the American School In London and Southbank International who were able to host the midseason and league finals respectively.
Greenhouse sports, thank you for trusting and supporting the LBA to run the LBA X Greenhouse league. Coach Jago with Brampton Manor was able to provide their venue which allowed us to complete the semi finals and finals for both the U14 Boys & Girls teams all in one day. Thank you to Mathew and Jerome for their guidance and support throughout the season.
Thank you to Allofficials.co.uk who were able to supply the games with referees as well as providing qualifications for the next generation of R.O.C’s. Along with this, the LBA is immensely grateful to all the students that were able to help their school teams with table officiating. Last but not least thank you to the referees that officiate all the games related to the LBA. The games can not happen without you.
