Basketball in crisis as court shortage bites

Southern Peninsula Sharks’ junior Skye Miles is all concentration as she gets set to shoot.

A campaign to boost basketball on the Mornington Peninsula and halt people leaving the sport has been launched by Basketball Victoria and the region’s three associations. Southern Peninsula Basketball Association (the Sharks), Western Port Basketball Association (Steelers), and Mornington District Basketball Association (Breakers) have formed Peninsula Basketball Project Group to lobby all three levels of government to step up to the stripe and fund eight to 10 new courts in the next two years.

Teams in all three associations are being forced to turn away new players including juniors excited to start their sporting lives, schedule midweek games for 16-year-olds that finish as late as 10.30pm, and curtail big events – all due to too few courts. Up to 200 junior players could be turned away this year. Worse still, no new courts have been planned or funded by governments this or next financial year.

Games are starting later and later as clubs try to accommodate an annual growth rate of up to 28 per cent against a state average of 7 per cent. Governments are asking people of all ages to adopt more healthy lifestyles but are underfunding the means to do so.

The Peninsula now has more than 8000 registered players hitting the court every week.

Western Port association general manager Peter Caspersz reportedly said players, parents and officials were leaving the game over frustration with lack of courts. Players are travelling to Carrum Downs and Seaford for home games as petrol costs soar.

Mornington District has a waiting list of 200 players.

Southern Peninsula association general manager Ben White said basketball needed the support of Mornington Peninsula Shire Council before state and federal governments would consider funding new courts. “We’re looking forward to the shire council’s long-awaited indoor sports capacity plan,” Mr White said.

The plan was started in 2018 and was released in 2020. A “second version” is expected to be released for public comment mid-2023 with the final plan published in the second half of the year. An earlier audit stated the Peninsula would need at least 15 new courts by 2030. The only new court built in recent times is Rosebud Primary School’s single court in its new gymnasium.

Mr White says the association’s annual Southern Peninsula Tournament last November, a key event for 35 years for junior basketballers throughout metro Melbourne as a pre-season warm-up, saw 25,000 people come to the Peninsula for two days, but organisers had to restrict entries and turn away 10,000 people. “Basketball Victoria estimates the Peninsula lost more than $1 million in potential revenue in accommodation, tourism and hospitality during an off-peak period.”

Netball, table tennis, badminton and volleyball also were suffering from lack of facilities, he said, adding the ideal funding model would see the Federal Government contribute 50 per cent, the state 25 per cent and the council 25 per cent to new centres.

A long-proposed $10 million three-court extension to the current three-court Dromana stadium at Dromana Secondary College has stalled and looks unlikely to be built before 2028 at the earliest. It was to have a show court with seating for 2000 people as well as a wellness centre. Southern Peninsula has 300 teams and manages courts at Dromana and Rosebud colleges.

A State Government spokesman said community groups wanting to expand or rebuild stadiums should first work with Mornington Peninsula Shire Council “to develop a proposal for consideration through future funding opportunities”.