Sport
12 March, 2024
Mareeba has it in the basket
BASKETBALLERS in Mareeba are gearing up for another season and are inviting anyone wanting to play to come along.
Since returning from a Covid hiatus, Mareeba Basketball Inc. has banded together to reestablish their inter-club competition, bringing on highly trained coaches to help them meet their goals.
Coming into the new season, committee president Andy Harris said he was impressed with numbers so far, particularly in the junior competition.
He said their goal was to eventually form a women’s team and an inter-town competition with Atherton.
“We are still rebuilding this year, so we haven’t got a women’s competition yet, unfortunately, but we have got a men’s competition on Wednesday nights … and a strong junior competition on Monday afternoons,” he said.
“Last year, we had an under 17s team play in Atherton for an inter-town carnival, and so we are hoping to do that again this year, depending on numbers, and hopefully get the men's team in there as well.”
Vice president Tyson Tatti said he was particularly impressed with the growing junior numbers.
Being the “life” of the club, Tatti believes starting them young will help the form stronger senior teams in the future.
“You have got to keep them going as they go up through the club, and looking at these guys, I think we have got a couple of good kids coming up,” he said.
“That is really our focus here, our future going forward with basketball.”
To help grow the future of the club, Harris and Tatti are calling on players and volunteers to help build numbers.
They say the club is always looking for volunteer coaches and people to help pack up and pack down, as well as new and older players wanting to get out on the courts.
“Ideally, we would like to see people come along and sign up to take positions on the committee and on the board as well as people who participate,” Harris said.
“Having basketball in Mareeba gives people a choice to play an indoor sport … and a sport the kids can play that isn’t on the weekend.”
Mareeba Basketball Inc.’s next annual general meeting will be held on Monday 18 March from 6.30pm at the Mulungu training room.
To sign up and get involved, email secretarymbi2@gmail.com
