Sally Bunyard Spiers is a Warwickshire Police Inspector. She is also the current manager of the Women’s British Police Basketball Team. She represented Great Britain in the 1988 Olympic Games and has also played for Wales as a senior! This is her sporting story.
I initially started playing basketball at Dunsmore School for Girls in Rugby when I was 12 years old, which led to me being selected for the U15 England squad for the following three years, including being given the captaincy role. I continued through the various levels, U17 and U19 squads, playing at numerous European Championships, which culminated in me being offered a scholarship at Stetson University in Deland, Florida. Prior to leaving for the USA, I was selected to represent the Great Britain Women at the Seoul Olympics in 1988.
Whilst attaining my degree I was also part of the first Stetson Hatters Women’s Basketball Team to win the Conference and hold the top scoring freshman record, which was only surpassed in the last couple of years having held this since 1989.
I joined South Wales Police in 1995 where I continued to represent the force at basketball including at the first Women’s National Finals, which South Wales Police won, and I attained the MVP trophy for the tournament. I have continued with my participation in the Section as a player, GB Team Manager (2006-2009) and now as the Head Coach for the GB Police Women’s Squad. I also have the honour to hold the Vice Chair’s role for the PSUK Basketball Section.
It has been invaluable being able to mix a police career with my dedication to basketball. With the demands of the job, long hours, shift work and challenging situations daily, the opportunity to be transported into the world of competitive sport with fellow colleagues cannot be underestimated. Not only does this allow me the ability to enhance my skills, it also builds on the networking capabilities, as well as some really important downtime away from the job. Sport allows an individual to maintain a healthy lifestyle, manage mental wellbeing, as well as strive to enhance their abilities, not only through physicality, but the mental ingenuity that competitive sport encourages. I can honestly say that the education, coaching and highly pressured sporting situations that I have experienced have made me the person I am today.
I am now an Inspector within Warwickshire Police, the County where my basketball career originated. I have the ambition of driving the development of basketball within the community, not only to enhance our work around criminality, but also to show youngsters that with ambition, dedication and the support of a network of individuals and facilities, that they too can attain success through sport and their career. I have been fortunate to have seen the world through sport and gain many acquaintances along the way, giving me a varied life experience. I have also been extremely fortunate to have been able to continue these sporting exploits as a police officer, which culminated in me receiving the Award of Excellence from PSUK, for which I was thoroughly honoured.
Team Police exist to raise much needed funds to support everyone in policing who participate in sport or any physical activity, just like Sally, by bringing business together with the service through sport, if you are interested in having a conversation and being part of this journey, contact us at info@teampolice.uk.
