Kids short on court space
BELLARINE Peninsula Basketball Association will need to start knocking players back if it can’t source greater facilities to field more games in the near future.
One of two courts used at Ocean Grove is already out of action due to flood damage, with the pair to be ripped up and relaid over the summer, which will impact on the BPBA’s summer season.
Most of the association’s basketball is run out of its home at Drysdale, while courts at St Ignatius Primary and Christian College also alleviate the demand.
But BPBA operations manager Vicki King said that without a long-term fix, the association would have to cap the number of players it can cater for.
“I guess over the last couple of years we’re at the stage where we’re getting pretty close to not being able to take too many more members because of sheer lack of venues and facilities available to be able to facilitate any further games each week,” King said.
“We’re sort of at bursting point at nearly each of the four venues that we run across the week.
“We’ve got good numbers coming through Aussie Hoops and our Slam Jam program, but we get to the stage each year we have to sit down and work out how we fit those kids into teams within our competitions to ensure we can cater for all the games required each week.”
King said the out-of-action courts at Ocean Grove, which are used twice a week, would be a significant blow.
“We’re hopeful at some stage down the track there will be expansion of existing facilities or, best-case scenario, a new facility at some stage,” she said.
“But I think right now that’s a significant time frame away.
“In the meantime, we have to make do with what we’ve got and source additional courts at local primary schools to try and manage all of the members that want to play.
“The association has had discussions with council and state government. I guess it’s always easier said than done and these things don’t happen in short time frames.”
Numbers sit at about 1900 members, with the league catering for 230 teams during the winter and about 250 during the summer season.
“We always have a bit of a drop-off over winter when football and netball are up and running — our numbers swell in the summer and drop back in the winter,” King said.
“We’ve experienced the expected drop and we certainly expect the numbers will be boosted come October for the start of the summer 2017-18 season.”
King said the association also had a shortage of experienced referees.
“We’re in a little bit of a trough,” she said.
“We have good numbers of referees as far as just people, but as far as having senior experienced referees, that’s something we’ve certainly had issues with in the last six to 12 months in particular.
“Having more experienced officials to be running senior games of basketball and even higher level junior basketball, it’s always an issue.
“I think it is an issue statewide and nationwide — and an issue that every sporting organisation would have as well.” KIDS looking for a taste of basketball can give the sport a go at the Storm Hoops Camp at Drysdale over the coming school holidays.
The July 10-11 clinics are designed to provide kids aged five to 13 with two days of fun, learning and development in a non-competitive environment.
“Holiday camps are always popular with the kids,” Bellarine Peninsula Basketball Association operations manager Vicki King said.
“We anticipate up to about 70 kids each day. It’s a great way to see what basketball’s about and it’s a great way for mum to get rid of the kids for a couple of days.
“If we pick up a couple of extra kids that have never played basketball before then we’ve had a win, and as long as the kids walk out with a smile on their face at the end of the day then that’s all we’ve set out to do.”