Good job.

Not accurate, but a nice rant nonetheless.

happy to be corrected on any inaccuracies HO..

you like the ball?

Not not, the issue. But, BA are sponsored by Spalding. Victoria uses Molten for all its leagues.

Any contract BSA have would give them the right to reject a product deemed unfit for purpose.

How? Cat said that the associations were bound to use the Spalding because of BA's agreement - clearly wrong....

lifted from BSA website...lucky bloody Vics dodged a bullet..pity about the rest of us


The agreement is part of a broader partnership between Basketball Australia and Spalding whereby Spalding is the Official Game Ball supplier to:

· Basketball Australia including (non-FIBA) National team events, Aussie Hoops program and Australian Junior Championships

· The WNBL

· The SEABL

· Basketball Queensland

· Basketball WA

· Basketball SA

· Basketball ACT

· Basketball NT

From this time onwards, only the following balls may be used:


- Spalding TF 1000 Legacy for CABL games (Basketball SA will provide each CABL team with 5 x TF1000 Legacy balls per season).


- Spalding TF 500 for District games

Interesting. So i suspect the wording of that is careful, and would suggest that as NSW and Vic have separate agreements, BSA could if they wanted.

Looks to me like a deal BSA have "opted in" to rather than been forced upon them. Still, I would be blown away, or it would be staggering incompetence, that if the ball is not up to scratch, that it could not be resolved. I am happy to go with the staggering incompetence...

And it doesn't bind associations, it binds rep teams playing in some rep leagues run by the state body.

dollar rules our life at home and work - so why not basketball ?

would be interesting to read the fine print..

it could certainly be binding if the sponsorship agreement demands it..

my only gripe is a clearly sub-standard piece of equipment 'forced' upon those players under those Associations

this is not in the best interests of the sport or the players

on a more useful note:

I have heard of some teams are resorting to damaging or stealing the balls so that they can not be used.

The most discreet idea I can come up with is a stationary pin to puncture the ball through the black seam (which is very soft).


I am not promoting these ideas, as it is very wrong! Just want everyone to keep and eye out so that if you see someone doing it, try to keep your applause to a minimum.

This is a crap situation that all players have been dealt, the balls we are using are terrible, they don't bounce properly and feel average. I along with many other players have complained pretty much at every game, and yet this so called ruling from Spalding can't be changed! This is crazy, if the ball is shit, then players shouldn't be forced to play with it!

@ "I play ABL"
I have double checked this with 2 stadium managers, it is in the contract that we have to use the TF500's because that is what the sponsorship deal stipulates (even if we purchase and bring out our own TF1000, it can not be used).

Currently it really pisses me off to watch a junior game, where the ball is clearly producing about 6-12 turnovers a game. Basketball Australia need to remember that their job is to look after the game first and their end of year BBQ second. But someone decided to put an ex-politician in charge, so what do you expect.

how long is the deal for - i.e 1 yr 2 yrs ? want to know before i invest in a new ball (more cost)

The parts that I know are:

1/ This year: we must use the TF500.

2/ Next year: we can use alternative models so long as it is still a Spalding.

3/ I don't know how long the sponsorship lasts.


I really want to urge everyone to be vigilant in making sure no one ruins these balls by puncturing them with a stationary pin...otherwise Spalding won't be able to force us to keep using them.

A politician involved in BA is absolutely irrelevant. This would be an issue of value of sponsorship from Spalding. Either they have a maximum they're willing to contribute, or they're keen to push the TF-500 as a marketing thing.

Sponsorship is tough and people complain about the costs of basketball (especially juniors) as it is, so it's unfortunate that any supporter of Australian basketball could face a backlash that might discourage their involvement.

That said, obviously there's an issue with the ball given enough are complaining about it, so hopefully Spalding can see that this is not positively promoting the TF-500 and maybe loosen the policy or upgrade the offering. They could leave the TF-500s with clubs as prizes for competitions, subject to joint marketing or whatever. That'd probably be the best way to save the situation, IMO.

When your a sponsor you want positive feedback this is not good for spalding BSA and the players. Common sense should come into play. I could not imagine the Vics letting their best juniors play with a ball that is made for back yard play. I was looking on the face book link and the ball clearly does not meet BSA district standards.

I think most players would be happy enough to each pay $1 extra for their game fees for one week to cover the cost of the stadium to buy a size 6 and 7 TF1000 for the court they played on.

I realise how stupid this sounds but I find it even stupider that we are currently playing everything below ABA with an indoor/outdoor ball. U/10's in country social comps use a better ball than this.

As much as I hate to criticize any sponsorship basketball gets, these balls are crap for indoor competition.
I play with ex-NBL and state-league players, and within 60 seconds of those guys handling the ball, they were letting me and the refs know how bad these balls were. (there was no preliminary encouragement on my part...)

Hello BSA,unfortunately this reinforces some attitudes players already had....!

@ "A politician involved in BA is absolutely irrelevant"

crap!!!!!!!!!!

It is entirely the point. That decision was totally ingnorant of grass roots knowledge or appreciation for the game.
Sponsorship is hard to come by, but the intergrity of the game is not an expendable asset. Telling kids that they have to play with sub-standard equipment because that is how Spalding values their contribution is not acceptable.

Proper leadership of our game ("our" = every-fucking-body, not just ABA and above) would have come to this conclusion and never signed up to this total BS

Spalding sux Balls

ok Isaac, I'll typed this very slowly for you...

My initial comment that you have taken exception to:
" But someone decided to put an ex-politician in charge, so what do you expect."

To any reader above the age of 12, this is clearly not a factual statement made by someone who understands or cares about the machinations that drives decision making at BA. Instead it is a characterisation of the issue at hand. I.e. "Politicians make crappy decisions and this is a really crappy decision".
The minutia of who was there, how this stupid decision was made, people in chains or any other tediously mind-numbing objection you want to make, is actually the irrelevancy that you so desperately seek.

See how you are irrelevant?
See how you are not on topic?
See how you Spot runs?
See how you write statements that belong in a kids book?
See how using open ended questions to make a conclusion is the work of a Clive Palmer voter.
See how I just called you a Clive Palmer voter, but that does not convey that you are actually a Clive Palmer voter. It just means, that I think you sound like someone who would vote for Clive Palmer.


I really hope this has been helpful. If I don't reply to your next post. It's because I have decided that it would be less painful to go out and headbutt traffic.

^What the hell did I just read?

Situation and Camel 31 having coffee together somewhere??

ok Isaac, I'll typed this very slowly for you...

Hey SpaldingSux,
Make sure the traffic is moving real fast when you decide to head butt it.
Hopefully we don't have to put up with any more of your inane, superior shit now do us all a favour and fuck off.

Was that typed slow enough for you?

Oily beef fucker: You seem really upset?

I liked how you were able use such wile to twist all my words against me, its flattened me more than traffic ever could (yep that's right, even the fast moving traffic)



Isaac: Nice work, I am happy to concede the grammar victory to you. I tried good as I could, but fuck'd it.

Well this has been interesting reading.

My favourite bit:

"Hopefully we don't have to put up with any more of your inane, superior shit now do us all a favour and fuck off."

The irony of whaleoilbeefhooked, the poster who has posted more useless drivel than any other, writing this about someone else.

Fantastic some real fuckin weird dudes on this forums these days... great read, and it all started over the quality of a basketball... I think. Really this has been pleasant to read. Isaac not sure how you have the patience sometimes!

Spalding sux balls gets the Ingles13 award for most moronic poster of 2014.

Should we add the fact that the Spalding deal was put in place before Keneally came on board, even as Chair?

Yeah you should add that HO. Because Keneally's whereabouts is so vital to this issue? If we don't understand where Keneally was as the time of this deal, how can we possibly appreciate how much the deal sucks for players? So for not bothering to fact check my characterization of this deal, I am sorry!

In my defence though, it was not like I produced a statement of fact, that was to the core of this issue and then the complete opposite prooved to be true:

i.e.
How? Cat said that the associations were bound to use the Spalding because of BA's agreement - clearly wrong....



Steven: saying mean things about Jingles is evil and you should take that back.

BSA is certainly enforcing the BA agreement so I don't fathom how that's incorrect.

NSW and Victoria seem to have escaped that agreement.

Don't really care about the semantics

Our premier Junior competition here in South Australia is using clearly 3rd tier level ball and BSA seem to be quite happy to enforce that to continue

at least admit the error and quickly make the change to TF-1000's

in the scheme of what we pay into the sport an extra $40-$50 is negligible to upgrade the equipment

Cat,

You mis-read my intent. I referring to remarks made by HO, not making that comment myself. I should have used "....."


The only point we differ on is: I don't think Spalding has the right to impose any conditions on any level of amateur sport.
But they probably would have got away with it, if we were allowed to purchase our own TF1000 and use that instead of the supplied TF500.

The NBA tried to introduce a ball that they later pulled after complaints. Keneally nowhere to be seen in that process.

Hopefully Spalding and BA can come to an alternate agreement so people can use their preferred Spalding product indoors. Easy enough for Spalding to say that where possible, the best indoor Spalding ball should be used but that the TF-500 is a great choice for those wanting something that will stand up to asphalt use too.

the cynic in me suspects that Spalding have excess stock of the TF-500's or sales for the ball have been spectacularly dismal

the agreement with BA has simply been a way to dump stock

can't think of any other reason why a sponsorship deal would be 'ball model' specific

if the madness continues it probably answers the question