A SELECT group of Bathurst's top basketball players, coaches and administrators have been invited to be a part of the inaugural I Am A Girl (IAAG) Leadership Scholarship Program.
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Bathurst's Jess McGrath, Hannah Lepaio, Jess Matthews, Kaleah Mack and Roxy George have all become a part of the program, which aims to encourage and inspire women's participants across the state.
Basketball NSW brought in the initiative to help "develop skills in basketball, teamwork, interpersonal skills, knowledge of the game as a whole".
The Bathurst quintet are among 240 scholarships offered to people 15 years and older in various roles within the game.
The program's first phase will begin on Friday afternoon with an online panel of women's sporting icons, timed to take place alongside the Australian Opals' campaign at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
"Myself, Hannah and Jess Matthews are doing the leadership course for coaches while Kaleah and Roxy are doing the one for players. Our first Zoom session for it is this week," she said.
"That will help set us up and get us familiar with what we'll be doing over the next 12 months."
Scholarship recipients will have eight online education sessions spread out across the following year, designed to help them in their chosen career path.
This Friday's online session involves a brilliant panel of Australian female sporting talent.
The session will involve current head coach of the Kenyan men's team Liz Mills, two-time Olympic medallist Jenni Screen, former Opals captain Michelle Timms, former Opals coach Carrie Graf and former Water Polo world champion Kerry Turner, who will host the panel.
McGrath said it's great to see initiatives giving girls greater confidence in the game of basketball.
"It's fabulous. It's great to see them promoting women coaching girls and encouraging a female-driven atmosphere so that we can get involvement up," she said.
"We've got a regional women's side for Bathurst, who were meant to have their first game this weekend but that's been pushed back, and things like that help to keep the girls involved in the game.
"Promoting an inclusive environment is great because it can sometimes be intimidating when you go away to events and it's mostly men."
Basketball NSW are also set to appoint IAAG Leadership Scholarship Ambassadors next week, going to those who are "shining examples" in the sport.
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