Skipton opens opportunities for Jersey basketballers

Skipton International has announced a significant three-year sponsorship of the Jersey Basketball Association (JBBA). The funding is for both the senior men’s and women’s teams as well as six junior teams.

President of the JBBA, Paul Milbank, said the sponsorship will make a significant difference to the sport: “The funding will enable our island-level teams to travel much more frequently to off-island competitions, which is absolutely crucial both for the development of the sport and the progression of our top players.

“With this three-year sponsorship agreed, we will spend the next couple of years building up our relationships with clubs in the UK and France and gaining vital experience. The eventual goal is then to join a UK or French league that will see us take our players off-island a couple of times a month for games. That will not only be rewarding for our top island players but will also provide a goal for our younger players to aspire to, which is always healthy for a sport.”

The sponsorship deal comes at an exciting time for Jersey basketball, which is seeing significant growth and interest in the sport, particularly among a younger demographic. There are currently more than 220 young people aged between five and 18 playing every week compared with just a few dozen five years ago. That success reflects both cultural trends and significant efforts from the JBBA to reach young people in the island.

Charlotte Dunsterville, Chief Commercial Officer at Skipton International, said the sponsorship shows their commitment to the Jersey community: “We really admire the JBBA’s ambitions for the sport in the island, and we’re delighted to support them. We hope that Skipton’s contribution will help inspire the younger generation of basketballers as well as allow the current top teams to achieve even more success. Skipton will certainly be cheering them on throughout the season.”

Skipton has offices in both Jersey and Guernsey and is well known for its community support across both islands. Paul and the JBBA believe its sponsorship of the Jersey team could end up being beneficial for both Bailiwicks. Paul said: “As with most sports, there is an age-old basketball rivalry between Guernsey and Jersey. We’ve traditionally been the underdog but feel our hard work is definitely seeing that start to change. With the generation of players we’ve got coming through we’ll soon be spoiled for choice for our top teams, and that has got to be good for the sport across the islands.”