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Coach it again Sam
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WNBL life member and Adelaide Lightning 2008 championship captain Sam Woosnam will open her long-awaited coaching career in the South East Australian Basketball League against her former team Sandringham Sabres on March 22.
Woosnam will helm Kilsyth Cobras in the revamped SEABL which has made minor changes to its South and East Conference structures while also adding Basketball Australia’s Centre of Excellence teams to the nation’s oldest interstate basketball competition.
The men’s South Conference now comprises: Bendigo, Canberra, Frankston, Hobart, Kilsyth, Mount Gambier, North West Tasmania, Sandringham.
The East is: Albury/Wodonga, Ballarat, Brisbane, CoE (that’s Centre of Excellence, NOT Church of England), Dandenong, Geelong, Knox, Nunawading.
While BA is still toying with a nickname for its CoE team – the “Exceptionals” has tested strongly with its demographic (that is, BA office staff) – it will play just 16 regular season games, with the majority before the Queen’s Birthday weekend in June due to international commitments including, possibly, the World Amateur Nuclear Kids Expo at Royal Singapore.
The season tips off for the men on Friday, March 21 with arch rivals Mount Gambier and Ballarat opposed, with the women's league playing a day later.
Fans don’t have long to wait for the first rematch of the men’s Championship final between Mount Gambier and Dandenong. It occurs in Round 3 at the Icehouse on April 4.
They DO have longer to wait for the women’s Championship final rematch between Knox and Bendigo, all the way to Round 8 on May 17.
There are no games scheduled over Easter from April 18-21 or the Queen’s Birthday weekend in June.
Dandenong will raise its men’s Championship banner in the opening round when it hosts Hobart.
IN more good news, Knox – boasting one of the nation’s largest community clubs - has been saved from liquidation after striking a debt-repayment deal with Knox Council over unpaid license fees and rent at the State Basketball Centre.
Knox Basketball Incorporated’s debts include almost $400,000 owed to council but the club has made a deal to repay the debts, with interest across the next three years.
KBI will cut operational costs, increase player fees and not replace staff who have resigned.
Volunteers once again will play an integral role in the club’s survival.
Former Big V chief executive Raelene Joyce was hired in August after former CEO Wayne Carroll had his contract terminated in July.
If you happen to be wondering whether any of this might have some impact on the proposed second NBL team out of Melbourne being based at the SBC, the short answer is yes.
Online
