Burton Shipley has been made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to basketball. Photo / Adam Pearse
Burton Shipley has been made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to basketball. Photo / Adam Pearse
Burton Shipley is stressing the importance of volunteers in sport after becoming an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to basketball.
The 68-year-old, who lives in Russell with his wife and former Prime Minister Jenny Shipley, is among the highest-ranking basketball administrators in the world asvice president of the sport's international body, FIBA (International Basketball Federation).
Shipley, born in Christchurch, discovered basketball as a skinny, five foot one student at St Andrew's College and played until 1974 when he gave the game away. However, with his wife heavily involved politically and Basketball New Zealand hunting for staff in 1990, Shipley returned.
"[Basketball NZ] wanted some people to come and help, and I thought, 'Well it'd made a difference to me, so maybe I should give something back'."
Shipley, holding an original 3x3 basketball, is passionate about giving back to local schools, often giving them new balls. Photo / Adam Pearse
In the following three decades, Shipley's voluntary work for basketball has been as plentiful as it has been varied. He chaired the New Zealand National Basketball League from 1999 to 2004 and the New Zealand Breakers from 2005 to 2010.
He was a Basketball NZ board member from 2003 to 2005, and again from 2011 to 2013. He joined the Oceania Basketball Board as an adviser in 2010 and was elected president in 2013.
In addition to his role as FIBA vice president, Shipley is also the only New Zealander to sit on FIBA's executive committee and is vice chairman of the International Basketball Foundation.
Shipley, seen here practising hard before the arrival of his grandchildren. Photo / Adam Pearse
This year was in stark contrast to previous years of Shipley's tenure. Normally, he would be travelling overseas up to 17 times a year, in addition to extensive domestic travel.
However, with lockdown brought a shift to their holiday home in Russell which has now become his permanent residence.
"I love it, I grew up in rural Canterbury, in small-town New Zealand. [Russell] has all the advantages and disadvantages of small towns."
Shipley said he was honoured to be appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit.
"It's pretty humbling really, to be honoured by your peers and it made me reflect on the people that I've had the privilege of working with over the last 30 years."
Shipley namechecked Northland basketball stalwart Mata Cameron as inspiration for why he continued his volunteer work.
"Every now and again when I get a bit down about something, I think of people like her who have shown up over many years and keep going and going."
Shipley eyes up the hoop in his driveway. Photo / Adam Pearse
In terms of player numbers, basketball had become New Zealand's fastest-growing sport and was one of the most popular in Northland.
Shipley was buoyed to see such an interest but warned both the coaching and referee stocks needed to grow to ensure the sport remained sustainable.
"I personally think that we need to make it easier for parents to coach and FIBA has put a lot of effort into it, we've got five books that, if you read them, you can coach basketball, you can referee basketball."
One significant deterrent stopping volunteers entering sport was sideline abuse. While not specific to a particular sport or country, Shipley said it was a vital issue which needed addressing.
"I've always felt that the people who [abuse from the sideline], all they're really trying to do is bully you and I've watched one or two people with great skills, walk up to them and say, 'Here's the whistle, you do it'. They shut up very quickly.
"[Volunteers] need to be helped though because it's not easy."
Russell has become the permanent residence of Shipley and his wife Jenny, a former Prime Minister. Photo / Adam Pearse
Looking forward, Shipley believed one of the key pressure points in basketball's future was funding. With many funding options available, Shipley said basketball organisations needed to support teachers and coaches to access it.
"In New Zealand at the moment, there are lots of opportunities to pick up funding and you've got to be prepared to fill out the five forms and sign 16 times and do the reports, but we need to be better at using those and we need to be better at helping them."
Shipley saw similar struggles at the high performance level, where funding from the government was largely determined by Olympic Games results.
"Everyone's got locked into this idea that you need to be able to win a medal at the Olympics and if you can't, we're not going to fund you very well.
"If that's the case, you're probably going to get 12 countries in the world that'll get funded."
