Lorraine May Landon (born 29 January 1947) is an Australian

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

administrator and former player and coach. She was introduced to the game of basketball through the Bankstown Bruins and represented the New South Wales team between 1968 and 1975. Landon was general manager of the Bankstown Association and the Bankstown Basketball Stadium's manager and was the volunteer tea manager of the Australia women's national basketball team (Australia Opals). She was subsequently appointed manager of the National Basketball League's (NBL) Sydney Kings and the Women's National Basketball League's (WNBL)

Sydney Uni Flames The Sydney Flames are an Australian professional basketball team based in Sydney, New South Wales. The Flames compete in the Women's National Basketball League The Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) is the pre-eminent professional wo ...

and guided both the

Australia men's national wheelchair basketball team The Australia men's national wheelchair basketball team is the men's wheelchair basketball side that represents Australia in international competitions. The team is known as the Rollers. Australia took the gold medal at the 1996 Atlanta Paralym ...

(Australian Rollers) and the Australia women's national wheelchair basketball team (Australia Gliders) to Paralympic success. Landon is an inductee of the Australian Basketball Hall of Fame and received honours such as the

FIBA Order of Merit FIBA Order of Merit is an international basketball award that is awarded by FIBA, the international basketball federation. The award is given to individuals that have made very significant individual contributions to furthering the sport of basket ...

and the

Australian Sports Medal The Australian Sports Medal is an award given to recognise achievements in Australian sport to commemorate Australian participation in major sporting events. Original recipients of the award included competitors, coaches, sports scientists, offi ...

Career

Landon was born on 29 January 1947. She was introduced to the game of

by playing for the Bankstown Bruins and represented the New South Wales (NSW) team as a player from 1968 to 1975 as she coached junior and senior sides between 1970 and 1982. Landon won the 1975 Australian Basketball Championships as captain of the NSW squad. She was appointed general manager of the Bankstown Association and the Bankstown Basketball Stadium's manager in that year. Landon was a volunteer team manager of the Australia women's national basketball team (Australia Opals) for each of the

1984 Summer Olympics 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 sec ...

in Los Angeles, the

1986 FIBA World Championship for Women The 1986 FIBA World Championship for Women (Russian:1986 Чемпионат мира ФИБА среди женщин) was hosted by the Soviet Union from August 8–17, 1986. The USA won the tournament, defeating the Soviet Union 108-88 in the fi ...

and the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...

in Seoul. She was also head of delegations for the team's 1984 tour of China and at four

FIBA Under-19 Basketball World Cup The FIBA Under-19 Basketball World Cup (formerly FIBA Under-19 World Championship) is the under-19 men's world basketball championship organised by the International Basketball Federation (FIBA). From its inauguration in 1979, until 2007, it was ...

s until 2011. In 1989, Landon became the first woman to hold the post of manager in either the men's and women's competitions when she was appointed manager of both the National Basketball League's (NBL) Sydney Kings and the Women's National Basketball League's (WNBL)

. The Flames won two WNBL championships and the Kings lasted until the NBL finals five times during her time at the two teams. She left both posts in 1997. The following year, Landon was made competition manager for basketball and competition manager for Intellectual Disability Basketball, Wheelchair Basketball and Wheelchair Rugby at the

2000 Summer 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 ...

and

2000 Summer Paralympics The 2000 Summer Paralympic Games or the XI Summer Paralympics were held in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, between 18 and 29 October. The Sydney Paralympics was last time that the Summer Paralympics which were organized by two different ...

in Sydney. She guided the

(Australian Rollers) to gold and silver medals in Paralympic competition as well as a World Championship bronze. Landon helped the Australia women's national wheelchair basketball team (Australia Gliders) win Paralympic bronze and silver medals. Landon served on international and national basketball organisations for about three decades, including as the WNBL's executive director, a Basketball NSW (BNSW) board member of its sports advisory committee (the only female to hold the post), vice-president of the international governing body

FIBA The International Basketball Federation (FIBA ; French: ) is an association of national organizations which governs the sport of basketball worldwide. Originally known as the (hence FIBA), in 1989 it dropped the word ''amateur'' from its nam ...

's women commission for 11 years, is a director of both the Director for Sport Inclusion Australia and the Western Sydney Academy of Sport, and a life member of the BNSW and the Bankstown club. She discussed with the

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-own ...

executives her concern about the broadcaster's proposals to discard its live coverage of nationals sport in 2001.

Personal life

She has three children and five grandchildren.

Honours

In 2000, Landon received the IOC Golden Rings and the

. She received the

as an "Administrator, Past Australian representative and Olympian and Life member of Basketball NSW" on 14 July of the same year. In 2004, Landon was given the IOC Women in Sport Award. In the 2011 Australia Day Honours, she was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) "for service to basketball through a range of managerial and administrative roles." Landon was added to the Australian Basketball Hall of Fame in 2019. A breasted yellow Australian Olympic Team blazer that she wore at the 1984 Summer Olympics is held in the collection of the Australian Sports Museum on loan from

Basketball Australia Basketball Australia is the governing and controlling body of basketball in Australia, responsible for the development and promotion of the sport at all levels. Basketball Australia sanctions Australia's two professional leagues, the Nation ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Landon, Lorraine 1947 births Living people Sportswomen from New South Wales 20th-century Australian women 21st-century Australian women 21st-century Australian people Australian women's basketball players Australian women's basketball coaches Recipients of the Australian Sports Medal Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductees