Development Basketball League Wins Grant to Strengthen Ties with Australia

Indonesia’s Development Basketball League (DBL) has been awarded a $15,000 sports development grant through the Australian Sports Outreach Program to support the hosting of the second DBL World Camp in July 2011.

DBL Commissioner Azrul Ananda was delighted with the announcement, saying “the grant enables us to build on what was already a very successful event this year.”

“We see great benefits from the exchanges with Australia. The DBL places as much emphasis on education as it does on basketball. The experience young Indonesians gain through interacting with the players and coaches from Australia is invaluable for their personal development,” said Ananda.

The 2010 DBL World Camp, led by four expert Australian basketball coaches including four-time Olympian Andrew Vlahov, took place in August. 181 DBL players from all over Indonesia were selected to travel to Surabaya to participate in the four day camp.

Australian Chargé d’Affaires to Indonesia, Mr Paul Robilliard congratulated the DBL on its achievements and looked forward to building further Australia-Indonesia linkages through sport.

“We consider cooperation in sport an important element in improving people-to-people links between Indonesia and Australia and I would like to thank the DBL on its substantial contribution to this effort,” said Robilliard.

The DBL is currently playing host to male and female junior basketball teams from the Gold Coast (Australia), who have travelled to Surabaya for a 10-day visit to East Java. Next week they will play against the DBL All-Star teams that were selected at the 2010 DBL World Camp.

The ASOP Sport Development Grants support increased community participation in sport and physical activity. The Program also supports projects which address broader community issues such as health promotion, leadership and social cohesion through sport and physical activity.

For more information on Australian Government initiatives in Indonesia, please visit www.indonesia.embassy.gov.au

Media Enquiries:
Jenny Dee, Counsellor (Public Affairs) tel. (021) 2550 5290 mob. 0811 187 3175