Rebecca McIntyre awarded life membership of the HABA

McIntyre was inducted as a life member at the Horsham Hornets presentation night on February 24.

McIntyre joins her father, Gary Bird, as a Horsham Amateur Basketball Association life member and is the only father/daughter combination to do so.

"To be the only father-daughter to be up on the life membership board is something that I will hold very dear to my heart till the last day that I am on this earth," McIntyre said.

McIntyre started playing basketball at eight and progressed through the junior program.

At an under-18 level, McIntyre represented Victoria Country at national and state levels and won a national championship in 1998.

McIntyre returned to the national championships in 2023 as a coach.

From February 14-19, McIntyre coached the under-20 Victorian women to a silver medal in Geelong.

An ability to give back, particularly on the women's side of the sport, is where McIntyre has devoted so much time in recent years.

"We have just been bought up to give back and you help the next generation of people come through and experience that amazing experience you were given when you were growing up," McIntyre said.

After she spent a period out of the game, McIntyre returned in 2016 when her daughter Izabella took up the sport.

Since then, McIntyre has been on the HABA board for eight years and has coached various representative teams.

One focus area was to increase female participation in the sport.

In the last two seasons, McIntyre has seen greater female participation than male in the 'Aussie Hoops' program.

Aussie Hoops is Basketball Australia's official introductory program for 5-10-year-olds.

"It is the first time that it has happened that we can remember," McIntyre said.

This has flowed into the senior women's basketball program.

Horsham ran the Hellcats, which finished in 2002, a women's program that was not re-established until 2013.

McIntyre has coached the Lady Hornets the last two seasons and has seen an increased interest post-pandemic.

"It was an amazing year. Coming off covid no one had played other sports, so we had heaps of numbers," McIntyre said.

This season the Hornets finished the CBL South West season in fifth position as Olivia Jones took out the Melissa McClure Medal as MVP.

Read also: The Horsham Hornets celebrated their 2022/23 CBL South West season

Despite missing the finals, McIntyre is excited about the 2023/24 season.

"The future looks really bright. The girls have already started to see who is going to come back, and there are a couple of new girls that have come to town," McIntyre said.

Cara Tippet and Maddison Bethune were two juniors that were given the opportunity at the senior level last season.

"To have that happen was something that I was really excited about. Allowing these kids to have the opportunity and the fact that I was able to give that to them," McIntyre said.

McIntyre and men's coach Scott Benbow have worked hard to blend the junior and senior programs.

"I believe in the junior program, I came out of the junior program and I was given the opportunity as a 13-year-old. That carved where I ended up and allowed me to play at that elite level for my junior career."