Canterbury Basketball’s major award recipients from the 2024 season were announced at Senior Finals Day – here’s a brief rundown of what each winner has been recognised for
2024 Coach of the Year: Fraser Costley
Fraser exemplifies dedication and passion for the sport of basketball and goes above and beyond for the community year after year. In 2024, his commitment has been evident through his significant contributions across multiple teams and competitions.
Fraser led the U18 Representative team to a third place finish at the BBNZ National Championships, showcasing his ability to develop and inspire young talent, many of whom he has coached multiple times since their junior years.
In addition to this achievement, Fraser also coaches the M20 and M23 Shirley Boys’ High/Atami Club teams on Saturdays, working closely with athletes to foster their growth. His leadership extends further as the head coach of both the Atami Men’s Premier team and Shirley’s Thomson Trophy team, highlighting his versatility and deep involvement in the game.
Fraser, we are extremely proud to have you as a leader of our community, and recognize you as our 2024 “Coach of the Year”
2024 Administrator of the Year: Travis Dixon
Travis only returned to New Zealand a couple of years ago, and quickly found himself responsible for the administration of the Christ’s College Basketball Teams, and realised the number of players, teams, coaches to manage to be far higher than what it was when he went overseas fifteen years ago.
Not only has Travis managed all of the requirements of the Administrator role, it is the extra things he has done to help the sport of basketball here in Canterbury we want to draw attention to: lobbying on behalf of the CBA to gain access to the Hickman Gymnasium to use for our weekend club competitions; encouraging multiple Christ’s College students to referee basketball games so the day of competition runs as smoothly as possible (and in addition to this, stepping in himself a number of times to help out with a whistle too).
Travis, the things you have done to help grassroots basketball run so successfully here are why we are honoured to award you as our 2024 Administrator of the Year
2024 Bruce Martin Memorial “Contribution to Refereeing” Award: Raewyn Willocks
This year’s recipient of the Bruce Martin Award goes to someone who has been involved as a referee in basketball for over 40 years.
From 1998 to 2013, Raewyn refereed 240 NBL games, and has been a key leader in Canterbury’s referee community from the CBOA, through to her role on the Referee Collective. Her commitment to the local scene, has seen her referee more than her fair share of games in our Premier Grades, and High School competitions, and she is a key leadership voice amongst senior referee members, as well as being a voice for referees in our Disciplinary process.
A Life Member for Canterbury Basketball, a referee and trainer, and dedicated to basketball, congratulations to Raewyn Willocks, our 2024 recipient of the Bruce Martin Memorial Award.
2024 Services to Basketball: Heather Devlin
Heather has given up countless hours of time during her tenure with the Checkers Basketball Club. After 31 years with the club, there’s not much she hasn’t been involved with.
Heather has her mother to thank for exposing her to basketball back in Nelson, as a “Stadium Kid”, and she has helped countless other young people find this love for themselves through her work with the Checkers Club.
We can’t mention everything Checkers has achieved over the decades of service Heather has been there for (very often in a hands-on role with any new initiatives), but some of the more recent highlights include: very successfully taking over the Bishopdale Miniball Competition in 2016; entering a Women’s Premier Team in 2022 (who won the Premier League Grand Final that season), which completed their female pathway, with teams also entered at the under 13, under 16, and under 19 levels that season; and playing an instrumental role in establishing connections with schools, both Primary and Secondary, to drive development pathways for the betterment of the sport.
Heather we want to publicly recognise all you have done, by awarding you with the CBA 2024 “Services to Basketball” Trophy.
2024 Club of the Year: Atami-Kahu Basketball Club
As is the case every season, this award is very hard to determine, with all of our clubs doing a tremendous job to help make basketball what it is, in our region.
The Atami Club has advanced basketball on the Eastern Side of the city, creating a junior arm in 2023, when they established the “Eastern Kahu”, which was set up to be a feeder club for boys who would likely head into Shirley Boys’ High School (the affiliated High School with Atami). In 2024, the club further added here, with a Girls’ 13 and Under team entered, giving the Atami-Kahu club teams in both male and female grades, in our junior and senior club competitions.
This support of the basketballers in the club’s local area is all done without any employees, further illustrating the voluntary efforts people go to within the club to make sure everything runs as well as it possibly can.
We are pleased to publicly applaud the work the Atami-Kahu Club has done, and award them as our 2024 “Club of the Year”
