Ray is a committee member and plays for the +65 Men.
Ray had a very unconventional route into basketball. He had played at school until 15 when he switched to volleyball for two seasons getting to the British Schools Championships two years running. After this brief spell of sporting success, due to his career in farming and getting married at a very young age, he never played any form of competitive sport until one fateful day on 24th March 2018. He had taken his 15 year old daughter, Amie, along to the Lagoon Sports centre in Paisley, to rebound for Amie as she had been selected to train with the Scotland U16 team. When they arrived this morning they could not practice as the gym was full of mature people playing basketball. He soon realised this was the 5th Strathclyde Masters Tournament and on this day he decided to get fit and try to play competitive basketball again. A year later, and 20kg lighter, he had joined the Strathclyde Sixers team and at the ripe old age of 62 played in his first game for over 46 years in the following years Strathclyde Tournament, which the Sixers won. By now he was hooked on the game and continued to practice, although Covid 19 came along and made any competitive basketball impossible for best part of two years. When Nicky and Maria launched training and trials of the European Championships in 2022, Ray attended and was eventually selected to play in Malaga in 2022 for the +60’s GB team. Rays first ever points in any competitive game came in the first game of these Championships against Italy. Ray has since played for the GB team in Croatia and Italy. He also played in the Coral Springs 40th Anniversary Masters Basketball Tournament in Miami. Ray acknowledges the talented Strathclyde players, with whom he still trains every week, along with FIMBA coaches for his success to date.
It is with immense pride that I have joined the FIMBA family. Never could I have dreamt of playing for Great Britain and it has only been possible because of the efforts of Nicky and the rest of this illustrious team that I have joined. I look forward to helping FIMBA continue its impressive growth and to encourage more players to join this amazing organisation. Basketball has completely changed my life over these past few years and I will do all I can to help others on a similar journey.
Ray Atkins
