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Deep divide between Basketball Geelong, rival associations

A DIVIDE on how money should be best spent to fasttrack basketball in the region has led to a disconnect between Basketball Geelong and its rival associations.

Basketball Geelong has decided to walk away from Basketball Barwon after negotiations collapsed around how their senior program would be funded.

Meanwhile, Supercats chief executive Dean Anglin says Basketball Victoria Country hasn’t developed the right strategy for bringing infrastructure to the region, leaving a number of parties divided on what the priorities for basketball in the region should be.

While BVC general manager David Huxtable believes the Geelong and Barwon region “is being left behind” by other Victorian regions such as Ballarat, Bendigo and Traralgon, Anglin said it was unfair to compare them.

“If you’re talking about a multi-court facility and you try and build that in Geelong, it’s not going to be able to service the associations within the Barwon group,” he said.

“For a region that’s separated geographically by a bay, I don’t believe that is the right strategy. We need multiple four-court stadiums around the region. Potentially we need a large stadium for a dozen nights a year.

“If other assets get built in Geelong, like a convention centre, and they’re built and designed to create an auditorium-syle event, maybe that’s the option we need for expansion into NBL or WNBL or to attract the Opals to Geelong.

“Then we can focus our energy on the construction of stadiums to create more domestic opportunities.”

One of the issues Basketball Barwon was looking to allieviate was the need for individual associations to bid to councils and governments for funding, with the conglomerate to prioritise the sport’s biggest needs.

But Basketball Geelong and the Bellarine have walked away from the working group due to disagreements on how a proposed elite pathway program should be funded, with both associations believing they can continue to operate successfully on their own.

Surfcoast secretary Nicole Crammond said Basketball Geelong was looking for Basketball Barwon to develop a financial model that would cover “the significant yearly financial loss created by the SEABL program”, but Anglin rejected those claims, saying his organisation was set to post a profit of roughly $250,000 for the 2017-18 financial year.

“Our balance sheet is probably in the best position it’s been since 2013,” he said.

But Crammond hit back at the Supercats’ claims that they were putting the “greater good and growing the game” at the forefront of negotiations.

“A majority of the associations came to the table looking to work together,” she said.

“Basketball Geelong was the only association that from the outset made ‘non-negotiable’ demands — the biggest was that Basketball Barwon take on its SEABL program.

“The Basketball Barwon committee was reluctant because of the massive financial risk and because it was outside the committee’s scope at concentrating on the region’s junior programs.

“The door was never shut on Geelong, or any other association, and still isn’t.

“Basketball Geelong have made it clear that they want to go it alone — a disappointing outcome for their members, especially with the elite regional hub destined with be paired with the Basketball Barwon concept.”

Where to next remains to be seen.

Bellarine believes it can successfully apply for funding to add more courts in Drysdale to allievate bulging player numbers, while Surfcoast, Corio Bay and Colac are planning on going ahead with Basketball Barwon to pool their elite players together while sharing resources to lower costs.

‘If you’re talking about a multi-court facility and you try and build that in Geelong, it’s not going to be able to service the associations within the Barwon group.’ SUPERCATS CEO DEAN ANGLIN ( PICTURED)