Oldham talent Olivia hoping to make huge waves in the exciting world of basketball

Oldham-born and raised teenager Olivia Forster is on the right track towards a successful career in basketball having recently triumphed at the Under-18s Women's National Cup competition.

Olivia is 17 years old and is currently studying in year 13 at Copleston High School in Ipswich, having moved there to complete her A levels and join the basketball and dance academy.

She previously attended Saddleworth School, where she was deputy head girl, having earlier attended Knowsley Junior school and Springhead infants during her primary years.  

Olivia, whose family live in Watersheddings, began playing basketball at Oldham Sport For All Centre in Hollinwood at the age of six in 2011.

She began playing as her older brother Ethan was already playing at the same place.

The first team that she played for was Hollinwood Bucks in the Y2-4 Oldham league and she played for them for three years, winning three league titles along the way. 

At the age of nine, Olivia moved to Chadderton Warriors, winning two further league titles in the Y5/6 Oldham league. 

In April, 2016, Olivia moved and began playing for a girl’s National League team called Manchester Mystics Under-14s, despite still being only 11.

After securing numerous representative honours at North West level, Olivia was then selected for the U14/15 England Talent Pathway and was selected for England U14s, making her debut in Denmark in 2019.  

Olivia then captained the England U14 team in the summer, playing in the Humph Long Tournament in Manchester against Ireland and Scotland U14s.

Ahead of the 2021/2022 campaign, she moved to the Academy at Ipswich having been recruited by them which also fit with her choice of A Levels that she wished to study. 

She moved out of the family home and moved over 200 miles away at the age of 16 by herself to live with a host family.

Having starred for the Ipswich Academy, in April, 2022, Olivia was selected for England U18s and again captained the team to victory in the Four Nations Championship in Cardiff, where she top-scored for England in the competition.

In June 2022 she was selected for Great Britain U18s and played in Ireland and Serbia before competing at the start of August in the European Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria, where the team finished ninth.

So far in the 2022/2023 season, she is again playing at Ipswich U18s, Academy and Women’s team, completing the final year of her A levels and on January 21 this year she captained Ipswich U18s to winning the National Cup final, which was played in Manchester. 

Olivia has had a very successful basketball career so far and has worked hard to achieve the level she plays at. 

She is hoping one day to make the senior GB team, and judging by her efforts so far, a very bright future in basketball does appear to be beckoning.

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