Bringing basketball to all in Mako country

Basketball is "flying" in New Zealand as it continues to win the numbers game in New Zealand, with the sport's top official hailing the latest participation figures and promising even further growth in years to come.

According to the latest Sport NZ figures, basketball, with 25,387 registered players, is now the country's second-most-played sport in secondary schools, sitting just behind netball, with 25,917.   There has been a 58% jump in female players across the board.

An initiative in Marlborough to give more people access to one of the world's most popular sports is going from strength to strength.

The Marlborough Basketball Association supports local people who wouldn't usually have access to the sport to play basketball, particularly young women and players who want to participate in junior grades. 

"Our policy is to welcome everyone with open arms," says Marlborough Basketball's Grace Rodger.

"We want people from all levels of society involved in our sport, in any way possible, such as refereeing, volunteering, and playing.

"Whatever you want to do, we can help with that."

Last year Rātā Foundation provided funding to support the basketball organisation in hiring a skilled administrator to organise and develop local programmes, including holiday programmes and non-representative basketball tournaments throughout the region. 

Rātā Foundation Chief Executive, Leighton Evans, says that Marlborough Basketball mahi aligns strongly with the Rātā funding priority of removing the barriers to participating in active recreation and sports for local people," says Leighton.

"They operate free outdoor courts, open to the wider community, and in doing so, foster not just improved health and wellbeing but also provide the crucial social connection of team sports."

Grace says that the cost and lack of available teams are barriers for most people who want to play basketball.

"We provide as many courses as possible to involve as many people as possible," says Grace.

"We always try to keep our fees as low as possible and supply as much gear as possible, such as mouthguards and bibs. We want to allow people to be able to play and not feel like they must provide anything." 

The lifeblood of the association is its many volunteers who put in the hard mahi, lending their time and talent to ensure local basketball thrives and is accessible for all.

"Our volunteer base is the reason we run and the reason we run so well," says Grace.

"Except for my administrator role, everyone involved in Marlborough Basketball work in a  volunteer capacity. We have committees, referees, score bench people, our coaches, and people who set up for the play.

"We genuinely would not be able to run it without the people who help us out."

As well as playing the game he loves, one key volunteer and junior referee is Louis Thompson.

"My favourite part about coming along is playing with my friends and having a good time," says Louis.

"Basketball is a really fun sport, so I hope I can get into a college team – you never know!"

The association is committed to the 'Balance is Better' philosophy, which encourages young people to take the skills they learn in basketball and try their hand at other sports codes. 

"We don't want to keyhole kids into one sport or force them only into basketball," says Grace. "We want them to come here, and we want them to enjoy it.

"There are so many transferable skills in the game, such as your passing, movement, and communication, and you are meeting and able to socialise with other kids.

Marlborough Basketball also works with the local community through its National Basketball League preseason blitz at the start of the season. It also supports an initiative called Sundown Hoops, run through a youth trust, which focuses on getting younger people into sports and provides support through fees and access to transport.

Grace says the funding relationship with Rātā has enabled the association to offer basketball to many more young people in the community.

"Rātā funds our accommodation, our mouthguards, anything you can think of," says Grace. "Due to their support, we're able to keep any fees low.

"They are probably the reason we are running, and running so well, and with Rātā support, we can continue to build, increase our game nights and increase the number of teams we can offer.

"We are looking forward with a five-to-ten-year plan to go bigger and better."