Basketball is bouncing back

JUNIOR representative tryouts have begun in the Geelong and Surf Coast regions following the relaxation of COVID-19 restrictions.

Both Geelong United and the Surf Coast Chargers organisations held their first tryouts for the coming 2021/22 campaign last weekend and both clubs are raring to get the season under way, signalling the long-awaited start of the 2021/22 basketball year.

For Geelong United, their excitement lies in the strong numbers they received in their expressions of interest phase of their upcoming VJBL tryouts as well as their large amount of community engagement.

“We are really excited,” United general manager Lukas Bentley said.

“It has been a really challenging past 18 months to almost two years with our community missing out on the sport that they love, and we have such uptake of basketball in the Geelong region.

“For us to have a chance to go back to hopefully a sense of normality makes us really optimistic and excited as a club.”

Geelong’s community competitions have started as well with senior play just having started on Monday. Junior community competition play will start next Monday.

Bentley said there are already 700 teams across all age categories in their community competitions.

On the Surf Coast, the Chargers have had to halt not only their junior VJBL selection due to COVID-19, but also the selections of their first-ever Country Basketball League (CBL) senior sides following their announcement to join the league.

President of the Chargers Dave Scott is more aware than most of the role that basketball plays on the Surf Coast and the various health benefits it has on the community.

“That’s the common interest we all have at the Surf Coast Chargers, that we all love basketball,” Scott said.

“Additionally, having a number of new developments taking place on the courts this season, we are looking forward to getting the ball rolling at Wurdi Baierr Stadium.

“Just having everyone under one roof will be fantastic to catch up on everything we missed over the last few lockdowns as well as continuing to enforce the key values we have being inclusion, respect, enjoyment and effort.”

If you have any questions for either club regarding the coming dates for the 2021/22 season head to geelongunitedbasketball.com.au or basketballsurfcoast.com.au.