Sports News

The British Basketball community is coming together to pay tribute to the legendary pioneer Betty Codona OBE, who has sadly passed away. An unrivalled colossus of the women’s game in the UK, Codona dedicated 60 years of her life to passionately inspiring thousands of people to play the sport that she loved so much.

In a stellar career that began as a PE Teacher and resulted in her founding the Sheffield Hatters in 1961, she not only went on to win countless titles and establish the most successful club in women’s basketball, but she also played an immeasurable role in growing the game. The enthusiasm, dedication and skills of Codona came out in everything she did.

From when she proudly stepped out as a player and competed in the first ever National Cup Championship in 1965, to when she subsequently delivered 40 separate pieces of silverware as head coach between 1989 and 2009, prior to moving on to work as the Chair of the club. The list of honours that Hatters snapped up under her stewardship from the sidelines is staggering, with Codona having accumulated an array of basketball titles along with the BBC Unsung Hero for Yorkshire.

All of those fed into the 65 in total that Hatters have won since she founded the organisation, making them the most successful ever. Described by many that knew her as a force of nature, the inclusive and family environment that Codona fostered within Hatters is something she was fiercely proud of and will remain stronger than ever.

That social cohesion and community work was also a major factor in the awards that she was both given and in contention for. As well as richly deserving her OBE, late last year, at 83-years-old, she was shortlisted for The Sunday Times Grassroots Sportswoman of the Year Award.

Codona also had the Women’s British Basketball League Trophy Final named after her and WBBL Chair, Jim Saker said: “When I first became Chair of the WBBL, my first official duty was to present flowers to Betty on her 80th birthday before the Betty Codona Trophy Final.

“It was my first meeting with her, and from then on, she became both a source of advice but more importantly, a respected friend. She will be sadly missed.”

Basketball England CEO, Stewart Kellett stated: “Betty lived an amazingly full and productive life. Her passion, determination and selflessness in promoting and serving the sport, and in particular, women’s basketball, has been unparalleled in terms of its success and influence.

“She was one of a kind. Her spirit and generosity saw her contribute to the sport and her community in Sheffield over such a long period of time, positively impacting so many lives. She will be greatly missed but her fantastic legacy is rightly a huge source of pride form her family and the Hatters club and all of us in basketball.”

British Basketball Federation interim chair, Toni Minichiello said: “The term legendary is overused in sport, but it is fitting in Betty’s case. She has been and continued to be the lynchpin for female basketball and basketball in general in Sheffield and across the country for decades.

“Her tireless effort, spirit and influence and have done so much good for the game and for the young people who come through – and continue to come through – the Hatters club. She is going to be sadly missed by many, but she leaves a dynasty behind her in her family and the club that will continue her brilliant work long into the future.”

British Basketball League Chair, Sir Rodney Walker added: “Betty is rightly revered for her incredible work and legacy in the women’s game, but what can never be forgotten is that she impacted the sport for everyone, not just for girls and women.

“Her community work and dedication in helping to grow the game for all young people and from so many different backgrounds, is what matters most. The sport is incredibly privileged to have had such a formidable and amazing role model like Betty for so many years.”

Betty’s family described her as: “An inspiration for all, she was determined, relentless, intelligent and most of all passionate.

“Betty’s ethos will live on through every female who has represented the Hatters. Everyone here within the Hatters are deeply saddened but we stand united to carry on Betty’s values and beliefs as we respect the past and we will forge the future.”

She was extremely proud of her two daughters Vanessa Ellis and Loraine Gayle who played to the highest level of basketball in England throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Vanessa has followed Betty’s footsteps into coaching, assistant coaching Great Britain and leading England to a Commonwealth Games silver medal in 2008.

She was most proud of her grandchildren: Tyler a Hatters coach; Georgia a star player for the Sheffield Hatters WBBL and GB representative; Quinn a prospect playing for Capo d’Orlando in Italy.

Currently in their Diamond Anniversary year, the legacy that Codona leaves the club goes way beyond the Hatters. It spans not only the local community, but also leaves an indelible print on British Basketball itself.

The sport will stand together this coming weekend in recognition of her staggering accomplishments, with 24 seconds of applause before each game across the BBL, WBBL, and NBL, as British Basketball pauses to remember and respect a true great.

Five students from the University of Wolverhampton have landed placements in America to further their football coaching skills over the summer break.

A group of second-year students studying football coaching and performance in the University’s School of Sport have secured different football coaching placements at high-profile companies across America.

Sophie McKinna has been chosen as team captain for Great Britain and Northern Ireland at the World Athletics Indoor Championships which will take place in Belgrade, Serbia today, until Sunday March 20.

The Great Yarmouth shot putter has been an ever-present member of senior British teams in recent years.

World and European champion Dina Asher-Smith will compete at the Müller Birmingham Diamond League at the Alexander Stadium.

The two-time Olympic relay bronze medallist - British record holder over 100m (10.83) and 200m (21.88) - is the reigning world 200m champion and was the silver-medallist over 100m and 4 x 100m in Doha 2019.

Olympic high jump champion Gianmarco Tamberi (ITA) will compete at the Müller Birmingham Diamond League, the second meeting of the 2022 Wanda Diamond League series, at the Alexander Stadium on Saturday 21 May.

The former world indoor and European Championships gold medallist - the Italian national record holder with a best of 2.39m - was enjoying his best year ever when he suffered an horrific injury ahead of the Rio Games in 2016.

Emily Borthwick and Amelia Strickler have both received invitations to compete at next week’s World Athletics Indoor Championships, and these have been accepted by UK Athletics.

Borthwick, the Wigan & District athlete, has been in scintillating form in 2022, clearing a personal best of 1.95m in the high jump, and finishing second in the World Indoor Tour series. European and Commonwealth finalist, Strickler will compete in the women’s shot put where she will join Sophie McKinna in the field.

Altitude International Holdings, Inc.  have announced that on March 7, 2022, its wholly owned subsidiary, CMA Soccer LLC  signed a Management Consulting and License Agreement with NYC-based soccer giant, Soccer Partners America, a Colorado not-for-profit corporation.

RUSH Soccer is a national competitive youth soccer club that administers boys’ and girls’ teams internationally (the “RUSH Programs”) with proprietary training methodology, documentation and materials (the “RUSH Material”), proprietary technologies and platforms (the “RUSH Technologies”), and a database of individuals (the “RUSH Database”).

Following the International Hockey Federation’s (FIH) confirmation last week of the teams taking part in the competition, Birmingham 2022 has unveiled the full match schedule for the men’s and women’s tournaments.

Both the women’s and the men’s competitions will begin on Friday 29 July, with the opening session of the women’s tournament featuring reigning champions New Zealand against Kenya and South Africa playing Scotland.

Olympic pole vault bronze medallist Holly Bradshaw (GBR) will open her 2022 Wanda Diamond League campaign at the Müller Birmingham Diamond League at the Alexander Stadium on Saturday 21 May.

The 2013 European indoor champion - a former world indoor and European Championships bronze medallist - jumped a British record height of 4.90m in June 2021 to erase her nine-year-old previous best of 4.87m.

UK Athletics has today announced the first British athletes to be selected for this summer’s World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon (15-24 July). Five marathon athletes will represent Great Britain and Northern Ireland in the men’s and women’s races which are due to take place on the 17th and 18th July respectively.

Team England athlete Hayley Carruthers will help plant a series of trees in Pype Hayes Park to celebrate Birmingham’s status as a Queen’s Green Canopy Champion City tomorrow (Thursday 10 March).

The Birmingham-based marathon runner will join Councillor Mike Sharpe (Birmingham Lord Mayor’s Deputy) Cllr John O’Shea (Cabinet Member for Street Scene and Parks at Birmingham City Council) and members of the local community including Yenton Primary School to plant one thousand new trees at the park in Erdington.

Dawn Staley, who made history as the first female Black head coach for South Carolina Gamecocks Women’s Basketball, is now the highest-paid Black coach in women’s college basketball after signing a 7-year contract worth $22.4 million.

As part of the contract, Staley’s base salary will be $1 million per year with outside compensation starting at $1.9 million on the first year, increasing by $100,000 each year after that.

The first trees have been planted in Solihull as part of Severn Trent’s initiative to create 2022-acres of Commonwealth Forest across the Midlands. The 15 acres of new habitat at Hope Coppice will be open to the public to explore and will equate to around 9,400 trees. 

As Birmingham 2022’s Official Nature & Carbon Neutral Supporter, Severn Trent is delivering a series of initiatives to leave a social and environmental legacy following Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.

Birmingham 2022, the organisers of this summer’s Commonwealth Games, has issued a reminder that the search for 20 talented local people to be part of the Games as In Venue Hosts and Announcers ends on 6 March. The successful applicants will be able to kick start a career in sports presentation, carrying out roles which will involve them engaging with the thousands of spectators expected to fill each of the official competition venues this summer.

Katarina Johnson-Thompson, Holly Mills and Charlie Da’Vall Grice have been added to the British team for the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Belgrade, Serbia later this month. Reigning pentathlon champion Katarina Johnson-Thompson and Holly Mills have received invitations from World Athletics, which have been accepted by UK Athletics, to compete in the five-event competition in Belgrade next month.

The Birmingham 2022 Queen’s Baton Relay has now completed half of its journey to all 72 nations and territories in the Commonwealth. The Baton spent its 147th day in Niue, a Pacific Island in Oceania, which marked the halfway point through its journey. The Queen’s Baton Relay is a tradition that celebrates, connects, and excites communities from across the Commonwealth during the build up to the Games. It officially began on 7 October when Her Majesty The Queen placed her Message to the Commonwealth into the Baton.

The Relay will officially come to an end in 147 days at the Birmingham 2022 Opening Ceremony on 28 July, when the Queen or her representative, will read out her Message to the Commonwealth. During a visit from the Baton, Commonwealth Games Associations (CGAs) host a busy schedule of events and activities that aim to tell the untold stories of communities, through local heroes, whilst showcasing landmarks, and highlighting projects that addresses at least one of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Most recently, the Queen’s Baton Relay has been visiting the Pacific Islands in Oceania. In Fiji, Batonbearers took part in a coral planting activity as part of a global conservation initiative, led by hotels and resorts in Fiji in partnership with governments, private industries and conservation organisations. The initiative aims to protect coral reefs through coral planting opportunities, beach clean-ups and other activities to support the health of the ocean. Team Fiji’s Chef de Mission for Birmingham 2022, Sale Sorovaki, was among the Batonbearers to take the plunge and plant coral.

Fijian Batonbearers Jerry Tuwai, and Rusila Nagasau, respectively silver and bronze medallists at Gold Coast 2018, handed the Baton over to His Excellency the President of Fiji, Ratu Wiliame Katonivere. The Baton was then received at the British High Commissioner’s residence from para-athlete, Leslie Tikotikoca.

While in Papua New Guinea, the Baton visited Kambaramba, a village built entirely on stilts in the Sepik River. This way of living has allowed generations of families to live in the area, without exploiting the natural environment. Bradley Simon, Sports Project Officer to Hon Governor Allan Bird’s Office and former Agmark Gurias rugby league team member, represented his community as one of the nation’s Batonbearers.

The Baton was also taken to Unity Square in the Solomon Islands, which is home to the biggest flag and tallest flagpole in the Pacific region. In Samoa, the Baton visited a celebration of sport at Samoa Cricket Oval. It also visited Mount Vaea, which serves as the final resting place of Robert Louis Stevenson, the Scottish writer whose notable works include Treasure Island and Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. Samoan Athletes El Shaddai Eniata, Jireh Westerlund, Johnny Key, Jirhel Levy, William Hunt, and Esau Masina all carried the Baton on Mount Vaea.
The Baton visited Captain Cook’s Landing Place in Tonga, which marks the location where Captain James Cook came ashore to the island in 1777. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth visited and commemorated the location with a plaque in 1970. Tongan athlete Ronald Fotofili and sprinter Siueni Filimone represented Tonga as Batonbearers during the visit.

While visiting the world’s smallest island nation, Nauru, the Baton visited all 14 of the island’s districts, where local members of the communities had hand painted signs to welcome the Baton’s arrival. The Baton was also taken to the Nauru Museum, which is home to the first ever Nauruan flag. 18-year-old Nauruan weightlifter, Nancy Abouke was honoured to bear the Baton on home soil.

Batonbearers in Vanuatu took on extreme modes of transport with Benneth Malas ziplining 300m, another rode a quad bike, while a third went horseback riding with the Baton. Another Batonbearer crossed the Vanuatu Sky Bridge, 65m above a canyon, while carrying the Baton. In Niue, the Baton visited Matapa Chasm, which is known locally as the King’s Bathing Hole as it used to be frequented by Niue Royalty.

The chasm has a rich marine life and is home to many tropical species of crabs and crayfish. In the final 147 days, the Baton is set to continue its journey in Oceania, with upcoming visits to more islands in the Pacific Ocean and New Zealand, where the Baton will celebrate Commonwealth Day, before travelling on to Australia.

Following visits to the remaining Pacific Islands and CGA’s in Oceania, the Baton will visit the Americas, the Caribbean, and Europe, before finally returning home to England on 4 July, where the Baton will spend 25 days visiting cities, towns, and communities across the country.
Jerry Tuwai, Fiji Sevens team member and Batonbearer, said: “I felt so privileged to be one of the first Batonbearers in Fiji to take on the Relay and represent my country during the Queen’s Baton Relay. It is an amazing feeling to take part in such an important journey.”

President of Niue Island Sports and Commonwealth Games Association Maru Talagi, said: “It is such an honour to have been able to host the Queen’s Baton Relay during its landmark celebration of being halfway through its journey. I have enjoyed seeing the Relay so far and I am excited to see how the remaining countries and territories welcome the Baton.”

Lisa Hampton, Head of the Queen’s Baton Relay, said: “Being halfway through the Queen’s Baton Relay is such an incredible landmark to reach. This is bigger than just the numbers, it’s about the remarkable individuals we’ve met as Batonbearers, and the captivating stories told from communities visited that are testament to the success of this journey so far.

“I have been constantly amazed by the activities and events that the Commonwealth Games Associations have organised to celebrate the arrival of the Baton in each nation and territory. They have managed to make the Relay such a special experience for everyone around the Commonwealth to watch and enjoy with them.

“I am really looking forward to each of the remaining 147 days and to get to know each remaining Commonwealth nation and territory through the Queen’s Baton Relay.”
Dame Louise Martin, President of the Commonwealth Games Federation, said: “It is amazing that the Queen’s Baton Relay has now completed half of its journey across the 72 nations and territories of the Commonwealth.

“The Baton has received a warm and vibrant welcome from our Commonwealth Games Associations, whilst creating huge excitement and anticipation for Birmingham 2022. We are all now looking forward to the second half of the journey as the Baton continues to provide hope and inspiration on route to the Birmingham 2022 Opening Ceremony on 28 July.”