With the evolving COVID-19 outbreak extending beyond the Greater Sydney region and into numerous regional local government areas, coupled with the daily case remaining in the triple figures, it is unlikely that community sport will be allowed to resume by Sunday 29th of August.
Unfortunately, this has now resulted in Basketball NSW and, like many other sports, having to decide which events can or cannot continue for the remainder of the 2021 season.
Maria Nordstrom, the CEO of Basketball NSW, said… “Firstly, thank you for your patience. This is not easy on anyone, and we appreciate your support. Following last week’s monitoring of the COVID situation in Greater Sydney and now regional NSW as well. It has been blatantly clear we will not be able to continue the season in early September. We feel for the kids and adults who have been affected and have not been able to complete a full season over the last two years. We can only hope we will be back to a new normal soon and that we can complete a full season next year. In the meantime, stay safe and get vaccinated.”
Below is a summary of the status of various Basketball NSW competitions, high-performance and community programs.
BASKETBALL NSW COMPETITIONS
2021 Spalding Waratah League
The 2021 Spalding Waratah League has been abandoned.
To protect the Youth League Men promotion/relegation system and subject to NSW Government restrictions being lifted, on the 30th and 31st of October, the following teams will play a mini competition, with the top two teams securing a position in the 2022 Spalding Waratah 1 Youth Men’s competition. The rankings are based on the ladders as they stand now.
- Waratah 1 Youth Men #11 ranked team Hornsby Ku Ring Gai Spiders, plus
- Waratah 1 Youth Men #12 ranked team St George Saints, plus
- Waratah 2 Youth Men #1 Pool A ranked team Inner West Bulls White, plus
- Waratah 2 Youth Men #2 Pool A ranked team Shoalhaven Tigers, plus
- Waratah 2 Youth Men #1 Pool B ranked team Inner West Bulls Black, plus
- Waratah 2 Youth Men #2 Pool B ranked team Coffs Harbour Suns, plus
For all divisions in the 2021 Spalding Waratah League competition, the following teams have been awarded the 2021 title based on the ladders as they stand. Divisions that played in pools have been awarded dual winners.
- 2021 Waratah 1 Men CHAMPIONS = Centre of Excellence & Manly Warringah Sea Eagles
- 2021 Waratah 1 Women CHAMPIONS = Sutherland Sharks & Newcastle Hunters
- 2021 Waratah 1 Youth Men CHAMPIONS = Central Coast Crusaders
- 2021 Waratah 1 Youth Women CHAMPIONS = Canberra Nationals Academy & Central Coast Crusaders
- 2021 Waratah 2 Men CHAMPIONS = St George Saints
- 2021 Waratah 2 Youth Men CHAMPIONS = Inner West Bulls Black & Inner West Bulls White
2021 Spalding Junior Leagues – Metro Junior, Junior Premier and Eastern Junior Leagues’
Similar to the senior league competition, these competitions have been abandoned for 2021.
All the teams who were ranked #1 as per their last round will be the 2021 Champions and the 2nd ranked team being awarded, runners-up. Once restrictions have been lifted, Basketball NSW will send the medals to winning associations to distribute.
As custom in our leagues, in each grand final 1 person is selected as being the MVP of the grand final. These prizes will be distributed to the 1st placed team for the association to award to a player of their choice.
2021 Spalding Waratah State Championships and State Challenge
These events will not be held in 2021.
2021 Future Events
Subject to NSW Government allowing community sport to resume, the following competitions are being planned for:
- 3×3 Street Hustle on the 23rd September @ Bathurst
- 3×3 Street Hustle on the 28th September @ Maitland
- 3×3 Street Hustle on the 1st October @ Blacktown
- 3×3 Big Hustle Qualifiers on the 6th of November (in Sydney)
- 3×3 Big Hustle Qualifiers on the 13th of November @ West Wyalong
- 3×3 Big Hustle Qualifiers on the 20th of November (in Sydney)
- 3×3 Big Hustle Qualifiers on the 27th of November @ Port Macquarie
- Wheelchair Tournament on the 20th & 21st of November
- Senior 3×3 Tournament on the 27th of November
- Big Hustle – to be held late January or early February 2022
More information regarding these events will be circulated to associations in the coming days.
BASKETBALL NSW HIGH-PERFORMANCE PROGRAMS
U12’s Programs
The U12 John Davidson Country Jamboree – CANCELLED
Basketball NSW has added another round of U12 Skills Day Camps; these will be held on the 25th & 26th of September;
- 25th Sep @ Albury, Batemans Bay, Dubbo, Leeton, Niagara Park and Port Macquarie.
- 26th Sep @ Illawarra, Newcastle, Wagga and Yamba.
Registrations are to open soon.
The U12 Hot Shots Program will be held on the 26th of September.
- Boys to be held at the Northern Suburbs Indoor Sports Centre.
- Girls to be held at Auburn PCYC.
Registrations are to open soon.
HPP Trials
All HPP trials will be held and similar to last year, under heightened COVID-19 hygiene restrictions, which means there is no accommodation at the stadiums, and parents will be required to pick up/drop off. From these trials, SPP (Country and Metro) and DAP (Metro) squads will be chosen. The u18 Country squads will also be selected whilst athletes (Country and Metro) will also be identified for Development Tours/Events in January.
At this stage, we can not confirm what, if any, spectators will be allowed.
- Country U14’s | 9-10 October @ Maitland
- Country U16’s | 23-24 October @ Bathurst
- Country U18’s | 16-17 October @ Maitland
- Metro U14 & U15 Girls | Sat 9th October @ Bankstown
- Metro U14 & U15 Boys | Sun 10th October @ Penrith
- Metro U16 Girls | Sun 17th October @ Minto
- Metro U16 Boys | Sun 24th October @ Minto
- Metro U18 Boys & Girls | Sun 3rd October @ Minto
Registrations are to open soon.
U18 Metro State Trials
These trials will be held separately from the HPP trials above.
- Girls | 16 October and 23 October @ Bankstown
- Boys | 17 October @ Minto and 24 October @ Penrith
Registrations are to open soon
D-League
- U14 & U18 | 31st October @ Penrith and 7th November @ Barker College
- U15 & U16 | 14th November @ Penrith and 21st November @ Barker College
40 athletes to be selected in each age group, the selection process for athletes for D-League will vary slightly with the following criteria being used;
- Recommendations from association coaching directors,
- Basketball NSW network coaches
- Basketball NSW high-performance coaches
- Past performance at Basketball NSW events
Registrations are to open soon.
https://www.bnsw.com.au/d-league/
SPP Induction Camp
- Girls | 4-5 December, venue to be confirmed
- Boys | 11-12 December, venue to be confirmed
The State Performance Program (SPP) is the second tier of the Basketball NSW High-Performance Program. The program exists to assist in identifying, developing, and preparing athletes in the Under 16 & Under 18 age group to represent New South Wales at the Australian Junior Championships.
Athletes that are selected into SPP will be required to attend a weekly individual session during terms 4, 1 and 2. In conjunction with the weekly sessions, athletes will be required to attend several camps over the school year. The weekly workouts will be in the morning approx 6:15 am-7:30 am, and venues will be situated near a convenient Basketball Association for selected athletes, which will be confirmed at a later date.
The program involves athletes in the following age groups:
- U14
- U15
- U16
- U17
- U18
Interested athletes will complete a nomination form with the Basketball NSW Coaching department in conjunction with SPP Network coaches selecting from the pool of applicants.
Registrations are to open soon.
Any enquiries regarding any of the high-performance programs can be emailed to antonio.rosina@bnsw.com.au
2021 State Conference and Hall of Fame
The 2021 State Conference was scheduled to be held 26-28 November and the Hall of Fame gala dinner on Saturday the 27th of November; these 2 events have been postponed.
Club and Association Competitions and Learn to Play Programs.
Would you please liaise with your local basketball association for further updates on the activities they run?
COVID-19 Updates
Basketball NSW continues to work closely with Basketball Australia, NSW Office of Sport, NSW Health and other government agencies as we plan for the full return of basketball in NSW.
Basketball NSW will continue to update https://www.bnsw.com.au/covid-19/ as new information comes available.