Basil Zempilas

Infobox Person
name = Basil Anthony Zempilas


image_size = 170px
occupation = "Seven News" newsreader

Basil Zempilas is currently the weeknight sports reader on Perth's Seven News. He also works on Perth radio stations 6PR and 92.9. In 2006 he also began presenting the AFL segment on the Seven Network program Sportsworld with David Schwarz which airs nationally on Sunday's. Basil also comperes the annual Western Australian Sporting Awards, which screen on Seven. Basil also has a hosting role at TVW-7's Telethon and has asked if we can add in that he also calls the footy for SEN in Melbourne.

As a child he attended Floreat Park Primary School and Hale School. He graduated from Murdoch University in 1993 and took up a cadetship as a sports reporter with Seven News. This also saw the end of his Australian rules football career, with him retiring from his club West Perth after five seasons.

In his first year at Seven, Basil was awarded "Best News Story" at the annual Western Australia Football Commission media awards for his coverage of the Melbourne Football Club being thrown out of a West Coast Eagles closed training session. In 1996, he was named the "Best Television Personality" at the same awards.

1996 saw Basil promoted to weekend sports anchor on Seven News, a position he held until the end of 2001, when the Seven Network lost the rights to AFL. Dennis Cometti, later to become sports reporter for the Nine Network's Perth bulletin only to come back to Seven to commentate AFL matches, was the weeknight presenter for many years before Zempilas took over. In 1997 he commenced hosting a locally produced football show, "Basil's Footy Show". In 1998 he hosted the World Swimming Championships in Perth. Basil was also a co-host (along with Yvette Mooney) for the local program "Perth at Five".

During his time at Seven he has reported on a variety of stories from around the world. From AFL final series, to Davis Cup tennis in France to the Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur.

He has been involved with the Seven Network's coverage of the Olympic Games since the 2000 Sydney Olympics where he co-hosted "Tonight at the Games" with Bruce Abernethy for the Western Australia and South Australia markets. He also commentated the men's and women's modern pentathlon.

At the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympic Games, Basil called Steven Bradbury's win in the 1000m speed skating, it was Australia's first Winter Olympic Gold medal in history.

In March 2004, a portrait of Basil by Perth Artist Melinda Mackay was entered in the prestigious Archibald Prize and in the same year he featured in Cleo magazine's 50 Most Eligible Bachelors.

Basil attended the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, teaming with Andrew Gaze to call the men's and women's basketball, and with Nick Green to call the rowing. However it was not known if he read Seven News Perth's sports segment from Greece during this period.

In July 2005 Basil was the Seven Network News representative at the Montreal World Swimming Championships and in 2006 he teamed with Steven Bradbury to call the Speed Skating at the Torino Winter Olympics.

From 2007 Zempilas will call Perth AFL games for Seven. [http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/footy/common/story_page/0,8033,20896587%255E20322,00.html]

Zemplias commentated at the 2008 Summer Olympics, his last Olympics assignment for at least 8 years (the Seven Network have lost the rights to broadcast both the next Winter and Summer Olympics).

ee also

*TVW
*Seven News
*Seven Network