By launching the Molten Female Local Champions Program in Australia, FIBA Global Partner and sports apparel company Molten demonstrated its dedication to the sport of basketball.
With the conclusion of the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup 2022 on Saturday in Sydney, the Molten campaign recognized women from all around Australia for their contributions to the growth and development of women’s basketball.
Mirrin Rashleigh (Gladstone, Queensland), Jacinta Govind (Central Coast, New South Wales), and Josie Taoi (Western Sydney, New South Wales) were the three women selected to spend three days at the World Cup, where they attended the FIBA Global Women in Leadership Forum, met FIBA Hall of Famer Michele Timms (Australia), and interacted with other coaches and administrators.
Molten
According to FIBA Secretary General Andreas Zagklis, “Molten is not just inventive in its quest to have quality in its basketballs.” “Our 40-year collaborator gets our goals and, in this instance, our drive to find new methods to empower women basketball players at all levels. Both FIBA and I would want to express our gratitude to Mirrin, Jacinta, and Josie for their dedication and enthusiasm in helping to advance women’s basketball.”
Any anyone with even a passing interest in women’s basketball can make a difference, and Govind, Taoi, and Rashleigh serve as excellent role models for this.
Govind is active in the women’s basketball community via her voluntary work with Central Coast Basketball in New South Wales and as a co-host of the Shooting the Breeze podcast.
For her, being chosen was a dream come true.
She emphasized the need of providing women who are actively serving as volunteers in their communities with the platform and attention they deserve. “Whether it’s coaching a team, selling tickets at the gate, or officiating games, I know a lot of individuals who give their time to sports organizations for free. Unfortunately, not all of your efforts will be recognized. The Molten Female Local Champions initiative will begin highlighting the game’s hidden champions.”
Taoi founded a company called “Promote the Goat Uplift Inc.” to further this cause. In the Western Sydney suburbs, they provide coaching sessions and sports for disadvantaged teenagers and young adults. The youngsters will learn valuable life skills and have their self-esteem boosted as a side effect of participating in the program.
Taoi remarked, “The Molten Female Local Champions program is incredible, and it has motivated me to utilize my platform to help other young women.” “Basketball was my compass when I was a young man. It helped me avoid negative influences and hang out with good friends and acquaintances, so it was a net benefit for me. I want to provide an example for young people of the good changes that may result from this.”
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Taoi attended the Global Women in Leadership event, where she gained insight into the work that women in Papua New Guinea are doing for their society via initiatives like the She Hoops program, which she sees as complementary to her own efforts.
The fact that the program allowed her to meet the legends she had grown up rooting for was an added benefit.
Having the opportunity to reconnect with her childhood friends the Australian Opals at the reunion and seeing the vintage films “brought me back to when I was growing up,” she added. “I admired these young ladies I met and had the opportunity to express my gratitude to them.”
Rashleigh is a significant figure in women’s basketball, and she comes from the Gladstone Amateur Basketball Association in Queensland. She plays in the Queensland State League and also acts as a volunteer coach for regional and national junior teams. Also, she presided over the club.
“The chances we’ve been given while at the World Cup have been just great, and I’m simply still happy,” she remarked.
“Several promising programs, shown during the Global Women in Leadership Forum, reveal how we might attract more women and broaden participation. To encourage a wider audience to join in the fun, I’m revising my original statement to embrace a wider variety of media.”
“We have witnessed a big success with the Molten Female Local Champions program and are happy to collaborate with FIBA to see this initiative extended out worldwide in conjunction with other FIBA major events,” said Noa Hasegawa, head of brand marketing for Molten.
Australian young girls from 20 different clubs participated in a Molten Ball Relay earlier this year to send well-wishes to the 12 teams competing in the World Cup.