I agree Concerned. Should have been done long ago.

My concerns would be the increase in funds required for more staff and administrative costs for both associations, that are only going to be passed down to the public via ticket prices etc. Not knowing much about the local league, what are the current problems with them being merged?

I agree. The extra costs is an issue.

As someone who's been involved in local basketball for a long time and now has kids involved I worry about what I hear and see everyday. Parents are concerned with where their money goes. Basketball is the most expensive sport my kids play but it is their #1 love and that's why I make the sacrifices which allow them to play.

The program is outdated. The structure of two seasons which mean very little is outdated. What exactly is the point of the Summer Season if not just to get kids to play, and parents to pay. Surely an off-season or Pre-Season should be set-up to mean something along the lines of promotion or relegation in the main season.

I guess I'm trying to say that I feel the current structure in which children and adults would benifit greatly by a staff employed to run such competitions, not juggle the day to day issues of local competitions with trying to manage a National League Club.

(I'm well aware of the problems in the local Senior Competition, I mean DIV 5 District Senior Basketball? What's the point of that!?)

I give credit to the current management in that regard. No other NBL management has the workload of the current 36ers/Lightning staff but surely even they would benifit from having their own staff and not a General Manager who spends half his time running a NBL side and half of it making sure local stadiums are making a profit?

The idea is fine. But what happens if the sixers and lightning have a bad year and make a loss. Who is going to pay for that. Especially the lightning which make a loss every year. And who pay off the Dome. The sixers, the juniors? If we increase the costs or more staffing, aren't we just cutting off our noses to spite our faces.

I agree. Organisations all over the world undergo consolidation and rationalisation. I dont see how BASA problems (if there are any?? I would know) would be solved by 'deconsolidation' and 'derationalisation'.

'Concerned', what are the current costs to have a child play basketball for a season?

If the 36ers/Lightning run at at loss then they should have to find the money to fix it! Why should the State's local basketball program have to top up the NBL organisation?

I still believe ownership of the Sixers/Lightning should belong to BASA and in theory the clubs, and in theory the basketball public but anyone who has every had to deal with the management from a local point of view would completely understand why I am asking the question. Again I'm not having a go at current management, they are doing well under the current situation I'm saying that they should have a better infrastructure within which to work.

As far as costs go; I am forced to pay a ridiculous amount of money in Club Fees (which I'm told all of which goes to my club) to cover the cost of court hire, senior programs, registrations, part time staff etc. I must also buy playing uniforms, club approved warmup tops and jumpers and tracksuits. To simply go to a game I must pay $5.50 for my child to play and $3 each for my wife and I to spectate our children playing JUNIOR sport. On a roster basis I have the duty of scoring (which I have no problem with) but am asked to still pay my $3 spectator fee to do so.

Add to this the cost of Tournaments in Adelaide and interstate (which are complusory at my childrens club) and the numbers add up. My children have played 3 other sports and none of them have cost anywhere near as much.

MW, I can give you the approximate costs from one Club - $180 per season, that's $360 for the year, 2nd child is a bit cheaper, there is a $25 per season ($50 per year) Fundraising Levy. Then you have $5.50 per game (for untimed games) or $7.00 (I think) for Div 1 games (sorry but my son who plays Div 1 normally pays for his own ticket) as well as $3.00 for spectators. Allowing for a child in Div 2 or lower, playing in 35 games per year, with one parent watching (on average) you would be looking at a minimum cost of $700 a year. Add another $100 if both parent's go. Of course this doesn't cover Uniforms or shoes etc.

Considering that football clubs (Amateur or District) charge about $50 a year in fees and $2 a game, a total of $100 a year, you can see that Basketball can be a bit costly, but like "Concerned" my kids love the game and so we have made sure that they could play.

(Mod: This post is not available.)

(Ignore Sixers/Lightning; just consider the sport at local/junior level)

What does BASA need to do? (Marketing, organising, etc)

If anywhere, where are they failing?

Forget about what positions might be understaffed or underfunded: ideally, what should be improved?

I routinely hear people with complaints about the organisation, but what are the specifics? What's caused frustration?

Conversely, what's working?

I go to ABL games and so my interaction occurs solely at that level. The standard of play is great, the refereeing is very good, statisticians might miss some stuff, but they do the job. The people at the door are fine. Staff at canteens and bars are fine. My criticism would be of marketing (want to know who's playing where? You have to drag yourself through Sporting Pulse to find the big schedule listing. Ugh. And if you didn't know about Sporting Pulse, then who knows), I've made recommendations about tickets before, and post-game service (i.e., box scores uploaded and announced; results put online or emailed out to interested parties at a routine time, etc). When the ABA game reviews and previews are done, they're good, but can you subscribe to them? Are they consistently done by a certain time?

Taking in everybodies points of view, I would like to tie in a past posting about a junior squad for the sixers and lightning. If the sixers/lightning became another club they would be able to suit a team in the local ABL. Thus taking young talent and keeping them on contract for a possibility to play for the National team.

Tell me your thoughts

To 'Basketball is Life' - when Adelaide City were in the NSL and had a similar setup for their 'B' team in the local SA Premier League, they had to pay transfer fees to get the players out of their contracts at one club (ie Raiders and Mario Karlovic) to come play for them and subesequently contract their youth players. I'm sure that if the 36ers ever proposed to have a team in teh ABL, the clubs will look to this option of compensation for their losses, defeating this purpose?

I think the current system is fine - the Sixers (or 36ers :P) get the pick of the current bunch of players from ALL teams, without having to deal with all that kind of messy stuff. If only they could DO IT PROPERLY and not let the BEST YOUTH TALENT from SA go to bloody Townsville.