Basketball Queensland (BQ) is excited to announce the appointment of Michael Cedar as our Indigenous Pathways Manager, one of two new positions created to deliver BQ’s Indigenous Pathways Program (BQIPP).

Introduced in July, the BQIPP aims to deliver a range of socially inclusive sport and physical activity initiatives that will increase participation for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Basketball throughout Queensland, particularly for those vulnerable and disadvantaged Indigenous persons living in remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

“This position is something that appealed to me because I’ve been through the BQ ranks. I went from playing in all the classics back in the day when I was going through U14s, 16s and 18 [with Townsville Basketball] and then making Queensland North Representative teams and making my way all the way up to play in the NBL for a couple of years” said Cedar.

“I guess I know the ins and outs of BQ and I have that first-hand experience of what it’s like to be an Indigenous athlete going through those ranks.

“At times it was a very lonely place because more often than not I was the only Indigenous person in those teams. I know just how important it is to have some sort of support and I feel like I’m the perfect person for this position”.

Michael’s past experiences as a player, going through the junior representative system and his role as a representative for Australian Indigenous Basketball since 2015 have helped shaped his desire to strengthen opportunities for Indigenous participants in Queensland.

His new role will include visiting targeted regions across the state to deliver specialised BQ activities and services and strengthening the number of pathways for First Nations people to be involved within the sport.

“It’s not just going to be about players, it’s going to be about referees and it’s going to be about coaches and it’s going to be about admin.

“I’m looking forward to getting out and about in communities and associations throughout Queensland. I’ve been to the majority of them [associations] as a player and to be able to go in there to say this is what we’re doing on behalf of BQ and we’re identifying Indigenous athletes in the state and build pathways for them to go wherever they really want to go with their basketball, that’s the really exciting part of it.

“It’s about giving back, BQ helped me out a lot as a kid growing up and gave me opportunities to see Australia while playing basketball. It helped me develop and this is my way of giving back and I’m thankful that I have the opportunity to do that”.