Basketball ACT is preparing to start a search for a new leader to guide it into a next year after it emerged chief executive Michael Haynes has been linked to a new national role.
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Haynes is believed to have accepted the Basketball Australia head of officials position, a newly created role, almost two years after taking the top job in Canberra.
He has overseen the moves for the NBL to return to the capital for the first time in 10 years and has been at the helm of Basketball ACT at a time when the sport is booming in the city.
But the Basketball ACT will need to find a replacement for the next important steps as the Illawarra Hawks consider a more significant push into Canberra.
The strong ties with the Hawks wasn one of the major achievements during Haynes' tenure, with the Wollongong-based franchise to play against the Cairns Taipans at the AIS Arena on January 26. It will be the first NBL game in Canberra since 2008.
The Basketball ACT board met on Tuesday night to discuss Haynes' impending departure as well as the looming appointment of an operations manager.
Haynes is expected to finish at Basketball ACT on January 7 and the board will investigate options for a replacement early next year.
The board is also looking into basketball's long-term facility arrangement in the capital with participation rates booming, putting all available courts at their maximum usage point.
"There are a number of other priorities that the board of Basketball ACT is working on, including access to more courts, as we are at capacity now," said Basketball ACT president Allan Yates.
"We are working with the ACT government and stakeholders to look at future development of the sport. We will continue to operate in the best interests of our clubs, players, officials and staff, including the impending appointment of an operations manager to provide some guidance and focus on our competition and service delivery.
"We thank Michael for his contribution and we wish him all the best in his future activity."
Haynes was appointed as Basketball ACT's new boss at the start of last year having been a previous Basketball Australia chief operating officer and general manager of community basketball.
If he takes on the head of officials role, he will have a major challenge on his hands given the angst between coaches, players and referees in the WNBL this year.
The Canberra Capitals were hit with a $2500 fine for inflammatory comments about match officials last week. It was the biggest fine in WNBL history.
But WNBL bosses have since softened their stance, lowering the fine to $1500 and having another $1000 suspended after the Capitals attempted to fight the penalty.
There is concern about the lack of match referee experience in the basketball hierarchy, and Haynes will have the job of trying to bring all parties together to reach common ground.
