Secretary General Tony Thompson and Guam National Coach Sid Guzman traveled to Istanbul, Turkey to attend the 2010 World Congress. Unlike the Children of the World where youth coaches and players had the chance to relax and experience Istanbul in a variety of ways, the World Congress turned out to be a very important meeting; things like Rule Changes, Financial Reports, Secretary General Reports with Patrick Baumann, FIBA 33, Hoopfest, Federations and leagues, Doping, Bedding, and Governance were also coverned.

With the great success of FIBA 33 first held in Singapore; IOC, Jim Tooley, and Zoran Radovic all recommended that all federations adopt the FIBA 33 3 on 3 rules and regulations and take the game everywhere – cities, parks, gyms, etc.

To work out differences, all Federations should have meetings with Stakeholders of game of basketball within their country. When the differences are worked out, we get the best out of the country. One difference that needs to work out is the NBA and FIBA calendar. This needs to happen soon so that the best players and coaches can participate in the World Championships.

As National Federation Leaders, we should stress Authority over the game not control.

The FIBA office in Turkey had their grand opening during the World Congress meeting. The 2 million dollar building took 6 months to build. Thompson and Guzman experienced the grand opening and walked through the offices. They also met FIBA’s president, Bob Elphinston, Christopher Dubi who is the Sports Director for IOC, and other people when they mingled at the opening ceremony and forums.