Honour for cup stalwarts

BY JESSICA GRIMBLE

Organisers of a national basketball development tournament have honoured the dedication of its Horsham stalwarts.

Alison McKinnon received life membership and Owen Hughan received an award of merit for their contributions to the Australian Country Junior Basketball Cup.

The tournament runs annually in Albury-Wodonga for more than 600 under-14, under-16 and under-18 basketballers from across Australia and New Zealand.

It emphasises development opportunities for players, coaches and referees.

Mrs McKinnon’s award honours more than 20 years supporting and leading the tournament’s administrative team, ‘the Red Shirts’ – making people feel welcome and inspiring them to work hard.

Her involvement began in 1999.

She had received an ‘award of merit’ in 2006.

“Ali’s personal attributes are those one could list in a picture of the qualities of the ideal volunteer. Her spontaneous smile, unflappable nature, high level personal organisational expertise and her genuine empathy for others have earned her the respect of everyone involved,” her citation read.

“Alison continually embraces the theme of the Country Cup of participation being the priority and winning a bonus in her tireless volunteer work.

“Without Ali and people like her, the event could not be of such a high quality, producing such formidable young athletes.”

Mrs McKinnon said she was ‘excited’, ‘shocked’ and ‘humbled’ to receive the award during the tournament’s opening ceremony.

“I had an inkling something was going on because they kept ringing up and asking lots of questions,” she said.

She said building relationships within a positive atmosphere kept her returning each year.

This was the tournament’s longawaited return since 2020.

“The passion and the excitement the kids had at that first game – the noise was unbelievable,” Mrs McKinnon said.

Mr Hughan’s award recognised ‘outstanding service and contribution to the development and promotion of Australian country basketball’.

Mr Hughan’s almost 30-year in- volvement has included developing and mentoring athletes and coaches.

Country Victoria nominated him for the award.

“Owen’s work with young athletes and his ability to produce elite players in regional Victoria is well recognised,” his citation read.

He first attended the tournament in 1996.

He said it was an ideal environment for country basketballers to develop their skills, or for coaches or referees to receive mentorship.

“It has an atmosphere that’s serious but at the same time, you’re in a holiday situation. I’ve never been to a tournament like that – they’re normally very serious,” he said.

“It’s more of a life experience.”