THE LONG SERVING president of the Bequia Basketball Association and former Caribbean Basketball secretary, Sabrina Mitchell has been elected secretary of the Central American and Caribbean Basketball Confederation (CONCENCABA).

She is the first Vincentian and also the first woman elected to the prestigious post, the SVG Basketball Federation said in a release.

Mitchell was elected by acclimation, being the sole nomination for secretary, at the annual assembly and elections of the organization, held in Miami, Florida on Tuesday, February 14. She will also serve as a Board member of the FIBA Americas Zone Board, and continues her current role as member of the Finance Commission of FIBA, the International Basketball Federation. Guyanese, Patrick Haynes, who was the former secretary was elected CONCENCABA president, defeating former Caribbean Basketball president, Barbadian Glyne Clarke, who also ran for the position. The SVG Basketball Federation was represented by its president, Rohan Providence, who attended the FIBA Plus Seminar and both CBC and CONCENCABA Elective Assemblies in Miami, Florida.

Mitchell founded the Bequia Basketball Association in 1999, which, the Federation says has a stellar record of annual tournaments with the exception of two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She also served as secretary general of the Caribbean Basketball Confederation for 19 years, since 2004, and is currently a Sports Ambassador of SVG.

She is also known for her volunteer service to her country, serving as the director of the Bequia Musical Festival; chair of the Bequia Tourism Board and a successful business woman in her own right, owning and managing several companies on the island of Bequia.

Speaking about the election of Mitchell, Federation president, Rohan Providence said, “ Ms. Mitchell’s ascension to the position of CONCENCABA general secretary is testimony to her consistency, commitment and profound love and ongoing contribution to the development of the game throughout the FIBA family.”

“Her new role also empowers her to make an even greater impact towards the development of the game. On behalf of my executive and the SVG Basketball Federation, we wish Ms. Mitchell every success in her role and extend the same to Mr. Patrick Haynes, the president of CONCENCABA. Working together we have no doubt that basketball will see profound development and growth here at home and across the Sub zone.”

Providence attended the February 10-12 FIBA Plus Workshop where all National Federations were given administrative tools and knowledge sharing to enable the growth of basketball in their respective countries. The Caribbean Basketball Confederation (CBC) elections took place on February 13, and St. Lucia’s Leslie Colly more was elected interim president, with Velica Augustin, also from St. Lucia being elected CBC secretary.

CONCENCABA is the regional authority of basketball in the geographic region of Central America and the Caribbean, with the responsibility of promoting and governing the sport of Basketball, and organizing competitions within this sub-zone, with the overriding authority being FIBA and its Regional office, FIBA Americas. There are 31 National member Federations assigned to CONCENCABA: Antigua & Barbuda, Aruba, the Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, Belize, British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Montserrat, Nicaragua, Panama, Puerto Rico, St. Kits & Nevis, Saint. Lucia, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago, Turks & Caicos and the Virgin Islands.