Taipans launch Girls Academy

The Cairns Taipans, alongside the Queensland Government and NBL Assists, is pleased to announce the launch of the Cairns Taipans Academy – Girls, an initiative that will promote girls’ involvement in sport across Cairns and seek to find the next generation of WNBL, WNBA and Opals stars. 

Set to commence this October, the Taipans Academy – Girls (“TAG”) will further strengthen the skyrocketing participation in basketball and deliver sessions that will include individual physical skills, team-based strategy sessions and goal setting. 

Five high schools will be identified throughout the region and receive five sessions, culminating in the ‘TAG Combine Day’ which will feature benchmarking skills and capability testing for all participants. 

These sessions will be delivered by Taipans players and coaches, but also supported by female athletes, CQUniversity High Performance staff and NBL Assists. 

NBL Executive General Manager, Government Relations and Inclusion, Tristan Russell said: 

“Participation in basketball is about to become even stronger in far north Queensland with the accessibility of this program across communities in Cairns. 

“We thank the Queensland Government for its support with NBL Assists and the Cairns Taipans to deliver this fantastic program.” 

Cairns Taipans CEO Mark Beecroft said: 

“This has been a long-time aspiration for our club, so we couldn’t be happier about this development. The Taipans remain the only national sports team in Cairns – so the opportunity to encourage and support potential female athletes is significant. This is a small step, but it’s one in the right direction. 

“We believe far north Queensland is home to some of the best emerging talent in Australia and of course, we hope this program will help identify the next female basketball superstar.” 

The Taipans would like to thank the Honourable Michael Healy, Minister for Tourism and Sport, the Department of Tourism and Sport and the National Basketball League. 

Minister for Tourism and Sport Michael Healy said: 

“The health and wellbeing of all Queenslanders is the Queensland Government’s number one priority and encouraging more girls to become physically active plays an important role in this. 

“The Queensland Government is proud to support this fantastic initiative in partnership with the Cairns Taipans and NBL Assists because an active community is a healthy community.”

Speaker of the Legislative Assembly Curtis Pitt said:

“The Taipans have an enormous presence on the sporting landscape of Far North Queensland, and this initiative further cements the importance of the role they play in the community.

“Basketball is a terrific team sport and I strongly encourage every eligible student to take full advantage of the sessions on offer.”  

Taipans Academy – Girls is proudly supported by the Queensland Government.