Supporting Community Basketball

While basketball has long been a popular sport across the region, over the last few years participation in the sport has boomed even more.

In just the past year, membership has increased over 30% with the Launceston Basketball Association now representing more than 3000 players from almost 400 teams.

However, the increase in popularity has led to further pressure on sporting infrastructure to keep up with the demand.

Federal Member for Bass Bridget Archer has teamed up with administrators from the Launceston Basketball Association, coaches and players to highlight the pressing need for additional basketball courts in northern Tasmania.

“The lack of available court space is causing a number of challenges for the Association and its clubs,” Mrs Archer said.

Craig Gibson, President of the Launceston Basketball Association said the lack of court space is leaving the

Association with no choice but to schedule more games late at night or increasingly scheduling byes.

“Without additional courts, clubs will soon to be looking to introduce a cap on the number of teams within each club, leaving any new members unable to play in Launceston,” he said.

The Association has launched a petition calling on all three levels of government to further identify possibilities for an additional six courts while investing in the upgrades to the current facilities at Elphin Sports Centre.

Bridget intends to present the petition to the House of Representatives, and to other levels of government in 2023.

Members of the public can visit Bridget Archer’s office at 100 St John St, Launceston to sign the petition.

The First LEGO League Challenge encourages students across the country to grow their research, problem-solving, coding and engineering skills through building and programming a LEGO robot that navigates the missions of a robot game.

Congratulations to the Star of the Sea students for earning an Engineering Excellence Award for their entry!