Widely regarded as Scotland’s greatest basketball player, Bill McInnes, who died in 2017 aged 71, is again to be remembered by his former Boroughmuir Blaze Club and others with a festival of the sport in his name at the end of this month (December).
The “Bill McInnes Festival of Basketball” was launched last year but such was the success organisers have added an extra day at the Craigs Leisure Centre in Edinburgh’s Pleasance.
On 27 December there will be a clinic for coaches and the following day a seniors tournament will be held featuring the host club, old friends Gloucester and Paisley.
The Festival concludes with an under-18 3×3 tournament.
Bill McInnes, former chairman of Basketball Scotland, was awarded an OBE for services to basketball in 2000.
He gained 172 international caps for either Great Britain and Scotland mostly as captain but is credited with always remembering his sporting roots at Boroughmuir, serving as player, chairman and coach.
Ally Reid, who has held a variety of roles at Blaze including team manager for both the men’s and youth outfits but currently chairs the club’s charitable wing called “We Play Together” says:
“It’s extremely important we continue to remember Bill who is still sorely missed and was ‘Mr Boroughmuir’ without a doubt.
“Besides his outstanding playing credentials he certainly wasn’t above coaching all age group teams.”
It is partly Bill’s legacy the Boroughmuir Blaze are now only 20 short of a capacity membership of 500 with players ranging in age from 10 years upwards.
Bill McInnes was also well known to those attending both Meadowbank and Wester Hailes sports centres where he worked in management capacities.
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