Jan Stirling (''

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

'' Graham; born 20 July 1955) 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 (appro ...

player and coach. She played for the

Australia women's national basketball team The Australia women's national basketball team, nicknamed the Opals after the brightly coloured gemstone common to the country, represents Australia in international basketball. From 1994 onwards, the Opals have been consistently competitive ...

during the 1970s and competed for Australia at the 1975 World Championship held in

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

. In the domestic

Women's National Basketball League The Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) is a professional women's basketball list of basketball leagues, league in Australia composed of eight teams. The league was founded in 1981 and is the Women's sports, women's counterpart to the Na ...

(WNBL), Stirling played 163 games for North Adelaide Rockets. Following her retirement in 1991, Stirling went on to become a successful basketball coach. She led

Adelaide Lightning The Adelaide Lightning are an Australian professional basketball team competing in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL). The club is based in the city of Adelaide, South Australia, and will play their home games at the State Basketball ...

to 12 straight

(WNBL) finals appearances between 1993 and 2004 and five consecutive Grand Final appearances resulting in four Championships. Stirling was WNBL Coach of the Year in 1993. She became an assistant coach of the Opals in 1994 and became head coach in 2001, the first time an Australian former player, and a woman, had ever taken charge of the Opals.Jan Stirling AM
Celebrity Speakers. Retrieved 2012-12-02. In 2004, Stirling quit the Lightning to concentrate full-time on coaching the Opals. Stirling had immediate success as national coach, winning a

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receives ...

at the 2002 World Championships in China. She then led the Opals to

silver medal A silver medal, in sports and other similar areas involving competition, is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, ...

at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, to gold at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne,

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

at the 2006 FIBA world championship in Brazil and silver at the Beijing Olympics in 2008. As a result, Stirling has been described as Australia's most successful basketball coach.Wilson, Caroline (9 April 2010)
''Girl Power''
The Age. Retrieved 2012-12-02. Following the 2008 Olympics, Stirling stepped down as the Opals head coach, becoming a consultant to the

Russian Basketball Federation Russian Basketball Federation (), also known as RBF, is a national governing body of basketball in Russia. It was founded in 1991, and is the successor to the Soviet Basketball Federation. After the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, FIBA banned R ...

. Since 2010, Stirling has been assisting Port Adelaide Power with their Leadership program. In November 2010,

Basketball Australia Basketball Australia (BA), officially registered as BA Limited, is the governing body for basketball in Australia. Established in 1939, BA is a not-for-profit organisation responsible for overseeing basketball at all levels in Australia. B ...

appointed Stirling as manager of the national program of the Australian Women's

Wheelchair Basketball Wheelchair basketball is a style of basketball played using a sports wheelchair. The International Wheelchair Basketball Federation (IWBF) is the governing body for this sport. It is recognized by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) as ...

Program. Stirling was awarded a

Member of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

(AM) in 2008 for her contribution to sport - as an elite coach, player and as a contributor to professional development and the community. In 2013, Stirling was elected to 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 ...

.Basketball Australia
''Hall of Fame: Jan Stirling''
. Retrieved 2016-01-30. She was inducted into the

FIBA Hall of Fame The FIBA Hall of Fame, or FIBA Basketball Hall of Fame, honors players, coaches, teams, referees, and administrators who have greatly contributed to international competitive basketball. It was established by FIBA in 1991. Originally built in ...

, in 2015.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stirling, Jan 1955 births Living people Adelaide Lightning coaches Australian women's basketball players Basketball players from South Australia FIBA Hall of Fame inductees Australian sports executives and administrators Sportswomen from South Australia 20th-century Australian sportswomen