THE Ballarat Miners have started making big off-court, off-season moves.<\/p>\n
Two major changes were announced last week, with the news club stalwart Eric Hayes would be leaving the Miner Dome after three decades.<\/p>\n
Then, in an act of unity, it was revealed the female and male programs would play under the same banner in 2022, with the Ballarat Rush relegated to history as elite women and girls\u2019 teams would be rebranded as the Miners.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s nearly a full circle journey for the Rush, who originally played as the Lady Miners until 2011 before striking their own identity.<\/p>\n
\u201cEmbracing a one club philosophy and unity across our elite basketball program from juniors all the way through to the senior rank is important, as we continue to develop an inclusive culture and build our club brand,\u201d said Kim Holloway, chair of Basketball Ballarat and former Lady Miner.<\/p>\n
Along with the change of name, the Miners also revealed a revamped club logo.<\/p>\n
Basketball Ballarat CEO Neville Ivey said the name change would better align the Miners with other clubs in the NBL1 competition.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn benchmarking against our peers within basketball and across other sporting codes it was noted that most clubs, with male and female teams, play under the one club name,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are grateful that naming rights partners Selkirk and Hotondo Homes Ballarat remain, with both prominent brands now being proudly worn across both the men\u2019s and women\u2019s team uniforms for NBL1, Youth League and the Junior Elite Teams.\u201d<\/p>\n
At the same time the men\u2019s and women\u2019s programs were reuniting, a veteran of the club announced he was stepping away.<\/p>\n
Women\u2019s coach and former player Eric Hayes will no longer have official involvement in the elite team program.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wish Eric all the best for the future and would like to acknowledge and congratulate him on the role he has played as both player and coach in getting the program to where it is today,\u201d Mr Ivey said.<\/p>\n
Hayes joined the Miners as an import player in the early 90s, where he went onto set the club games and points record, before taking on coaching duties with both the men\u2019s and women\u2019s teams.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
THE Ballarat Miners have started making big off-court, off-season moves. Two major changes were announced last week, with the news club stalwart Eric Hayes would be leaving the Miner Dome after three decades. Then, in an act of unity, it was revealed the female and male programs would play under the same banner in 2022, […]<\/p>\n