Basketball in the ACT will remain in good hands, with the BACT Board extending CEO Nicole Bowles’ tenure as the organisation looks toward a big future

Having been with Basketball ACT more than five years, the last three as Chief Executive Officer, Nicole Bowles will continue shaping the future of game in the ACT after the BACT Board confirmed her ongoing appointment in the role.

As the organisation embarks on a new phase Strategic Plan phase from 2026, Bowles’ continuation as CEO ensures that the already incredible growth and success the game in Canberra and the ACT has enjoyed over her time will forge ahead as the game eyes the next phase of an exciting future.

BACT Chair Michelle Hocking called the reappointment one of the easier decisions the Board has made in recent years.

“Nicole’s been in the role for a couple of years now and we’ve just seen such incredible improvement in the way we deliver our services to our community, in the way that we’re working across government, the way that we continue to grow the game and just the growth in the basketball is largely due to Nicole as CEO and her willingness to go the extra mile,” Michelle said.

“Her leadership is what made this decision so easy to make,” she continued. “She’s such a great thinker.”

“Nicole is able to work extremely well across all of our stakeholders and I think she is able to operationalise the vision that we put forward as a Board and her great contribution to that vision and forward strategy as well.

“She ticks all the boxes that you want in a CEO.”

Coming off an incredible 2025 that was full of so much success for the game locally, and so much growth for the game locally from community to elite level, Michelle says the Board has been so pleased to see the game grow, and Nicole leading the Board’s vision for the game.

“I’ve always known what a great product we have, what a great sport it is and how the community comes together in our sport, but the growth has been phenomenal. It has shocked me a little bit, but it doesn’t surprise me,” she says.

“I’m looking forward to just continuing to see the incredible growth and the way that our community is coming together in our sport.

“If we can get Belconnen Stadium expanded, it just allows us to, as a community, have a home and a home that can be for all of us at one time.

“And I think the way the diversity and inclusion has grown across the basketball community, I feel like we’re really starting to develop our identity not just as Basketball ACT, but just as basketball in the ACT as well.”

The Belconnen Stadium project will undoubtedly be the visible legacy for the future, but Michelle says the Board is most excited about Nicole’s ability to set up the game for the community.

“I can’t wait to see what happens and comes over the next few years,” Michelle said.

“We’ve set out a new strategic plan from 2026 to 2030. Nicole, we know, is going to deliver against it and it’s just going to position us so well for the future and bring great things to our basketball community.”