Betty Watson, 97, remembered for her contributions to women’s basketball

The national sporting landscape is in mourning following the death of Betty Watson OAM, the founding mother of women’s basketball in Australia.

Betty Watson OAM is being remembered as the founding mother of women’s basketball in Australia following her death.

Watson died aged 97 on Wednesday with tributes quickly pouring in to remember an “inspirational woman”.

Her list of achievements were as long as anyone in the game as she played a crucial role in helping women get more opportunities in the sport she loved.

She played in a series of games in 1942 against American nurses stationed in Melbourne before going onto become the first president of the Victorian Women’s Basketball Council and the Australian Women’s Basketball Council for over 20 years.

One of six people with legend status in the Basketball Australia Hall of Fame, Watson played a key role alongside her husband Ken in the establishment of the Australian Junior Championships.

The WNBL has named its Rookie of the Year award in Watson’s honour, now called the Betty Watson Youth Player of the Year.

While Basketball Victoria awards the Betty Watson Medal to the Female Player of the Year.

Betty Watson is considered the founding mother of women's basketball. Photo: Basketball Victoria.

Basketball Australia’s Executive GM of High Performance and former Opals coach Jan Stirling sung the praises of Watson’s contributions.

“Betty was a tireless champion of our game, she will be remembered as the founding mother of women’s basketball in Australia,” she said.

“Betty worked for more than 50 years to ensure that all women would have a pathway to play.

“In an era where women didn’t have the opportunities now afforded them, Betty was a trailblazer never taking no for an answer and never letting setbacks deter her.

“She was a true character, much loved and respected by everyone who knew her, we all owe her a great debt, her legacy will live on.

“Our condolences to her family and many friends within the basketball family.”

Fellow life member of the state’s governing body Elaine Hardwick spoke highly of Watson’s commitment to the game.

“Women’s basketball didn’t exist in Australia until Betty,” Hardwick said in a statement from Basketball Victoria.

“It wasn’t easy in the early years for the women to exist in basketball – we copped quite a lot of setbacks from the male administrators at the time.

“But Betty fought tooth and nail to get women’s basketball under way. It was her strength of character really, she had this terrific attitude, treated everyone with respect and she never gave up – she was a real fighter for women’s basketball.

“She had a phenomenal impact on everyone.”

Watson was bestowed with a Medal of the Order of Australia for her commitment to the game in 1997, just another one of her remarkable achievements.

She was also inducted into the Melbourne Tigers’ Hall of Fame in 2017.

Opals legend Tracey Browning described Watson as an “inspirational woman”.

“She’s made an enormous impact on a state and national level,” Browning said.

“She was a fantastic advocate for women’s basketball – and women’s sport across the board – as she worked her way onto committees and boards and was a trailblazer not just for women playing basketball, but also to become coaches, board members and administrators in the game too.”

Betty Watson was inducted into the women's state honour roll for contributions to basketball.

Melbourne Tigers general manager Chris Brooking paid his respects to the pioneering trailblazer in women’s sport.

“She was remarkable in what she did,” he said.

“She was the pioneer of Australian basketball for females, an amazing person.

“Betty has left an amazing footprint in passing.”

Such was Watson’s commitments cause to women’s basketball she advertised in local newspapers for women to learn the game.

She’d knock on doors for media coverage, a memory she reminisced on when inducted onto the Victorian Honour Roll of Women in 2006.

“I used to drive them crazy,” she said.

“I‘d do my homework and come up with great story ideas about women’s basketball and find interesting women for them to write about.”