Girls cock-a-hoop over new league
THE North Gold Coast Seahawks basketball association is set to showcase some of the best female talent in the region with the launch of a new girls’ league.
The “This Girl Hoops Shoot-Out” competition will be launched this month and will feature some of the best 17 years and under talent on the Coast.
Players will be able to have their say on the set-up and structure of the competition where they will receive coaching from qualified coaching staff including Seahawks QBL players.
Seahawks basketball development manager Greg Fox hopes the program will drive female participation in the northern Gold Coast corridor.
“We would like our ShootOut participants to be engaged in the structure and set-up of the new competition,” Fox said.
“Our aim is to create an environment where girls can continue to enjoy basketball and have quality interactions with other participants.
“To do this we will be actively speaking with our membership and community stakeholders for ideas on how to encourage more females into basketball.”
The league follows the success of the “This Girl Hoops” initiative launched in September last year which aims to develop a playing pathway from beginner to rep level and encourages girls to make basketball their sport of choice.
The Shoot-Out will commence on Monday May 27 and feature club teams from Coomera Anglican College, Gold Coast Wildcats, Hurricanes Basketball Club and Coomera City Warriors.
New Seahawks QBL US import Deja Middleton will act as an ambassador for the league which is set to be supported by local businesses and major sponsor One Stop VIP renovations.
Meanwhile, three Coast basketballers are a step closer to pulling on the green and gold after they were named in Basketball Australia’s squad for the upcoming Under 16 high performance camp.
Kobe McDowell-White, Lloyd McVeigh and Katie Deeble will all converge on Basketball Australia’s High Performance centre at the AIS in Canberra today to start preparation for 2019 FIBA ASIA U16 Championships to be held later in the year.
Six states and territories are represented by the athletes, while all 24 players that last year won gold at the FIBA Under-15 Oceania Championships will be in attendance.
The camp will run until Sunday.
• The Gold Coast could soon lay claim to more Opals, with six of the 10 girls named in the South Queensland U16 Women’s team plying their basketball trade in the city.
In what officials expect is a first, Coast basketball products Layla Cameron, Josie Josiah, Sky Mason, Hayley McDowell-White, Jessica Petrie, Shorna Preston and Lilly Rotunno will all pull on their state colours at the upcoming Australian junior championships.
Fellow Gold Coast talents Kobe McDowell-White and Haizyn Mellars have been selected in the South Queensland men’s state team.
The U16 Championships provide the first true opportunity for junior Australians to represent their state.
The junior championships will be held in Darwin for the first time from July 6-13.