Anon12
Years ago

Lightning given 7 more days

Report on the radio this morning the Sports Minister? Bignell has negotiated for further 7 day extension of deadline. Stated that SA cannot afford to lose Lightning. Does that mean that the govt will come to the rescure if all else fails? Also, whoever takes over - do they get the Lightning name (it was reported that the name is still with Vince)? BSA are also very quiet - it has been suggested that they have the necessary funds sitting in the bank, but, for whatever reason they are not willing to commit. Are BSA responsible for the basketball future/progression of female athletes in SA or not? IMO BSA CEO only cares about himself and his reputation (which is pretty average).

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Anonymous  
Years ago

CEO has been hard at work, expect an announcement this coming week

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Anon  
Years ago

So there is a chance for the Lightning?

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Anonymous  
Years ago

They are not "willing" to commit as it a terrible investment with no return. They probably don't want to return to the financial hole that required the government bailout in the first place!!

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Anonymous  
Years ago

Sucks but besides nostalgia the WNBL is a dead league, call it sexist but woman basketball doesn't make money.

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bodysuits  
Years ago

great to see the govt speaking up for bball !

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Jack Toft  
Years ago

Government support is needed.

Corporate wise, women's sport does not appear to get the sponsorship like mens sport (esp AFL) There could be a few reasons for that, and maybe the crowd demographics might play a part. Could be the personality of the sportswomen?

I am actually surprised because females are responsible for an average of 75% of household spending and so marketers love to broadcast their message in a female friendly way (when you watch a TV advert, the trick is to look for the hair color of the females. Blonde = male product. Brunette = female product). The FMCG products that tend to be involved with women's sport are those family type products, whereas every AFL club has a car sponsor (male type product)

It would be nice to see a swag of sponsors get on board and back the Lightning, but with so many things challenging the marketing budget, they can't expect sponsors to back a team playing to an empty stadium. Need to see something in the business plan to get the crowd numbers up so the marketing is going to more than the parents, siblings and boy/girl friends of the players.

Part of the problem with spectator numbers is the attitude we have as a general society. Male sportspeople can be adorned by both sexes. A female fan can take a selfie with a male basketballer, post it on Facebook and they are a "passionate, loyal fan". A male fan who takes a selfie with a female basketball, posts it on Facebook is a "creep". This was evident recently in Melbourne where a man took a selfie at a shopping centre in front of a Darth Vader poster. Some paranoid lady thought he was trying to take a photo of her kids and so took a photo of him and posted it to Facebook calling him a creep.

Crowds at the NBL and AFL appear to be roughly 55:45 males to females, crowds at the netball probably 20:80 male to female. Netball spectators appear to be "mums and daughters", or "a day out with the chicks". It might be an issue bigger than the Lightning, but I think the crowd demographics affects sponsorship more than what people think.

As a result, Government support is needed.

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';'  
Years ago

And all the mens teams are just rolling in it. The NBL doesn't make it either

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Anonymous  
Years ago

Its hard to get govt funding when you are essentially a private business trying to make a profit although losing a lot of money.

They'd probably need to be set up as a non for profit and have programs in place where they are giving back to the community (coaching girls, working with poor remote communities, etc)

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annonymous  
Years ago

We need to funk the WNBL up like netball has. This Saturday night the Netball comes to the Arena. Perhaps BSA and Clubs Premier Leagues could go and watch how they make it exciting enough to watch this boring less skilled game. If they can sell netball, surely they can sell basketball. We are just doing it wrong. OR are we women not as smart as we think we are and the majority are sucked in to the stereo types that having to be sexy or are the majority of women not smart enough and tough enough to play an altogether much smarter and demanding game that is basketball. I think it is both and I am a woman. Yes a woman on hoops folks..

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bodysuits  
Years ago

IMO with the netball - there is a connection between the grassroots fans and the team. Would be interesting about crowd age %s, how many tickets and at what price. Also does the netball network talk it up rather than down ?

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Jack Toft  
Years ago

"Yes a woman on hoops folks.."

Well strike me down with a feather. We did have a women on hoops before, but it ended up being Isaac in drag.

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bodysuits  
Years ago

it is important to have a lightning team -

offers our future talent something to strive for and look up at.

teams visit - use accommodation, Adelaide airport, meals, travel etc

any spectators will visit the state - I know of womens basketball fans from the states that have called in here for big games.

involves media activity local and national.

yes we know that you won't be a millionaire from it - but there is more to life than $.

what about the love of sport, competition, representing the city / state, playing on a national level ?

Maybe there are some new investors that can see beyond the $ what the sport brings to adelaide

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swish  
Years ago

Womens basketball is not competeing with netball but it is interesting to compare the numbers and mix of crowds.
Could be that netball is seen as safe - it is a female "only" area. ( as indicated by the percentage of males in the crowds) (Men going to netball are either family (or boyfriends) of players or they "must be a pervert".)Men at netball are way out numbered and so women and girls feel safe.
So mums take their daughters to the netball, hence the high pitch squeals in the crowd.
Mums don't take their daughters to the basketball. Its usually Dad's or whole families, but then if the whole family is going to go to the basketball they isually decide to go to the mens games which are faster, have higher profile players and all the razz a matazz!

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Anonymous  
Years ago

"but there is more to life than $."

As always said by people not willing to put their own money into it...

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bodysuits  
Years ago

ha - if you only knew !

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Isaac  
Years ago

If necessary, should be subsidised by state body (BSA), government (sponsorship) or by men's team (where possible). Might not be lucrative but it's healthy and creates a positive opportunity for female players.

For all the talk of needing 10x $15k sponsors, I was surprised that no one emailed me about publicising the requests and opportunities on Hoops - might achieve little, but it'd be free to try. Only real press otherwise has been Boti.

I would've been keen to see more of women driving the future of the Lightning - or was there more behind the scenes? There was a male consultant acting pro bono I think and male BSA CEO? No group of ex-players publicly pushing for support or calling past sponsors?

I like that the Wildcats have taken on Perth's WNBL team - that's very positive.

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bodysuits  
Years ago

good point isaac - yes they should be getting it out there on hoops as well - every little bit helps

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Anonymous  
Years ago

lots of women on hoops but not game to admit it cause we aren't allow to understand the game or have an opinion :')

personally I believe that there has been a presence of late behind the team of females, Stirling, Hodge, Sporn.

I also believe if there wasn't positive news coming the deadline would not have been extended. We will have a team, perhaps not next year but for the years to come. Be positive people! I am.

And Isaac as much as I love your site, here would only be preaching to the basketball converted this needed to be aired to the general public. But sure advertising on here also would not have gone amiss.

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bodysuits  
Years ago

would love to see some sponsors from the real estate / property management sector get involved - the profits and sales going on in this area have never been bigger.

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Anonymous  
Years ago

um Hodges has said that she has had no communication nor input

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bodysuits  
Years ago

or any car importer / producer from overseas - there is a huge car market here and we aren't / won't be making many cars here soon - so they would be good to get on board (i.e. AFL teams have fiat, renault, hyundai, mazda, toyota etc) surely a $10k sponsorship would be well within their capacity ?

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Anonymous  
Years ago

but there isn't any return for investment.

Sponsoring the lightning who has 200 people show up to games and no tv would be a worse deal than supporting a local amateur footy team.

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Jack Toft  
Years ago

Need to get the crowds and sponsorship flows from there. Start off with government backing and work from there.

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Anonymous  
Years ago

But its the same issue for the government.

Build a stadium and you effect 5000 people

Support the lightning you effect 200.

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bodysuits  
Years ago

what about the people that benefit - i.e. transport, accommodation, travel, meals - surely some interest / backing (doesn't have be thousands of $)

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bodysuits  
Years ago

that maybe short term - think back to 98 - there was more than 200 in king william st o/s the town hall for the parade

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bodysuits  
Years ago

your argument is just $ - what about the sport, the juniors, the role models, the involvement - just cause you didn't have $500,000 at birth did not stop you from aspiring for a home ??

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Anonymous  
Years ago

They dont create votes for the incumbent government.

And that money can create more votes elsewhere. Its not an inexhaustible pool of money for a venture that is likely to go broke each and every year without a white knight.

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bodysuits  
Years ago

the 1995 grand final - got a few more than 200 - try 7,100 - so don't talk it down - think you will find the game attendance is a bit better than that as well. talk it up not down.

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bodysuits  
Years ago

there are things that turns voters away from the govt as well - without action. You can't please everybody.
Oh well, at least the pandas are ok and we have a nice footbridge to go to the football - when another 2 are only a few 100 metres away.....- bad luck about any future sport ambitions in womens basketball.

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Anonymous  
Years ago

Women basketballers will do what they have always done.

Leave Adelaide for AIS

Leave Adelaide for College

Leave Adelaide for WNBL

Leave Adelaide for Europe.

The has only been 1 person who hasn't followed those pathways, Rachel Sporn, ove rthe last 20 years. All other elite girls have done one or more of the pathways.

To think that the Lightning will produce Olympians is both naive and foolish when everything else staring you in the face says otherwise.

Pat Mills made the NBA, was there a NBL team in Canberra when he was growing up???

Adam Gibson is an Olympain, was there a NBL team in Tasmania when he was growing up?

Jenny Screen is a World Champion, was there a WNBL team is Newcastle when she was growing up?

It's only those people personally involved that actually believe its a pathway.

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bodysuits  
Years ago

and how many have returned or had the lightning involved in their pathway - heaps

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Anonymous  
Years ago

Maybe the solution is to go back to the start. Potentially kill off both NBL and the WNBL. Push both men's and women's team back down to the Association level and have them compete in SEABL, effectively making it a national competition.
Would potentially redistribute the current talent pool and provides a much larger base for the ever-increasing player payments to be drawn from.

Before everybody jumps up and down saying this won't work, this is how it started.

Alternatively substantially reduced player payment so it is only a semipro competition so associations can afford to have teams in the WNBL and NBL.

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Anonymous  
Years ago

Probably less than have played interstate.

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Anonymous  
Years ago

Cmon bodysuit if you are going to rebut with "heaps" let's back it up with facts.

I'm a firm believer that no lightning doesn't result in any lack of pathways for junior girls. It doesn't restrict opportunities, as if you are good enough to play wnbl or higher, it is going to happen with or without a state based team in a national competition- see Gibson and mills example.

On another point, there is no way known that BSA should front any cash to save the Lightning. Recent history tells us how bad of an option that is, and the last thing we want is to be spending the very little association dollars on is a black hole, on the premise that this will keep girls in the sport. The decline has been steady with state team representation as it is.

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