Jennifer "Jenny" Cheesman (born 2 November 1957) is a former Australian women's

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player and coach.

Biography

Cheesman played 167 games for the

national team A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport. The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exam ...

between 1975 and 1988, competing at two

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

, in

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...

and

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...

. Cheesman described making the 1984 Olympic Games as "a life-long dream come true... Since I was twelve years old my aim has been to play basketball at an Olympic Games". At the

1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the secon ...

, Cheesman and her husband,

Phil Smyth Philip John Smyth AM (born 11 May 1958) is an Australian former professional basketball player and coach. He won three National Basketball League (NBL) championships with the Canberra Cannons before going on to be a three-time championship-wi ...

, became the first husband and wife to captain Australian teams at the same Olympics. Cheesman also represented Australia at four

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

, in

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to Internet protocol suite, TCP/IP is officially completed (this is consid ...

, and

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

. She was the

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

of the team from 1980 until the end of her career and went on to be the Opals assistant coach from 1993 to 2000. While she was still playing at the highest level with the Opals, Cheesman was an assistant coach with the

AIS AIS may refer to: Medicine * Abbreviated Injury Scale, an anatomical-based coding system to classify and describe the severity of injuries * Acute ischemic stroke, the thromboembolic type of stroke * Androgen insensitivity syndrome, an intersex ...

program, taking over the head coach role for one year in 1990. As a talented junior, Cheesman eventually had to choose between stellar basketball and

netball Netball is a ball sport played on a court by two teams of seven players. It is among a rare number of sports which have been created exclusively for female competitors. The sport is played on indoor and outdoor netball courts and is specifical ...

careers. Cheesman was an assistant coach with the Opals at

2000 Sydney Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

. In the

Women's National Basketball League The Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) is the pre-eminent professional women's basketball league in Australia. It is currently composed of eight teams. The league was founded in 1981 and is the women's counterpart to the National Baske ...

, Cheesman played for the

Canberra Capitals The University of Canberra Capitals are an Australian professional women's basketball team competing in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL). The team is based in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. In 2014 the University of Canberr ...

. Cheesman would win the Halls Medal for the

best and fairest In Australian sport, the best and fairest award recognises the player(s) adjudged to have had the best performance in a game or over a season for a given sporting club or competition. The awards are sometimes dependent on not receiving a suspensi ...

player in the South Australian Women's competition on three occasions; 1974, 1977 and 1978. In 2003 Basketball Australia introduced an annual Fair Play Award to all Australian Junior Championships. The Under 14 Girls Club Championship award for fair play was named the "Jenny Cheesman Fair Play Award", as recognition of her outstanding contribution to the game. Although Cheesman was not involved in any international medal winning teams, she was described a very important figure in the development of Australian women's basketball. Cheesman has been described as "a truly world-class basketball player". In 2006, Cheesman polled as the 8th greatest Australian female player in the 25-year team.Howell, Stephen (20 January 2005)
''League pollsters find Jackson simply the best''
The Age. Retrieved 2012-08-20. Cheesman was inducted into the

Australian Basketball Hall of Fame The Australian Basketball Hall of Fame was instituted by the National Basketball League (NBL) in 1998 as the ''NBL Hall of Fame'' as part of their 20th season celebrations. The NBL initiated the Hall of Fame to recognise the outstanding players ...

in 2004.Basketball Australia
Jenny Cheesman
Retrieved 2012-07-22

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cheesman, Jenny 1957 births Living people Australian women's basketball players Olympic basketball players of Australia Basketball players at the 1984 Summer Olympics Basketball players at the 1988 Summer Olympics Australian Institute of Sport coaches Australian Olympic coaches

Biography

See also

References