AshT
Years ago
http://wnbl.com.au/blog/news/1819-fixture-released/
http://wnbl.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Chemist-Warehouse-WNBL-201819-WNBL-Fixture.pdf
Thankfully not as condensed as last season and not surprisingly a final round obviously structured to minimize travel burden leading into finals, plus a well spaced out Semi Final Series.
anything but that god awful end of season schedule from last season. The poor old Lynx got reck'd
Need another qld team and another nsw team.
Brisbane and Newcastle hopefully.
Ben
Years ago
Brisbane won't be happening any time soon. At least there are no groups here with legitimate interest in tabling a bid.
The best thing would be to scrap the wnbls current teams and align them alongside nbl teams. Play just before the men.
Cmon kestleman!
Ben
Years ago
I thought that too Anon, pipe dreams though. Very expensive to run back to back games at most venues, among a myriad of other issues I don't have time to begin to list.
With other sports beginning to introduce women’s teams to a national competition, wonder if any meaningful changes will be made to the WNBL in the next 5-ish years. I admittedly don’t follow the league closely so perhaps someone else who does could throw up a few pertinent issues that need attention.
the only code who is not linked with there male counterparts and it shows. Bendigo, Dandenong and a few others are barely surviving.
Both Perth and Adelaide NBL and WNBL teams now share ownership.
There is a slow trend moving towards it.
It's funny how in the 90s we had WNBL-NBL double headers. Fast forward 25 years and now other sports have finally got their women's leagues. Basketball was such a trailblazer for pro women's sport and other features such as night time sport in this country but get no credit.
Ben, it's actually not as expensive to run games back to back (if both the teams are managed by the same organisation).
It's much cheaper actually than hiring a second date/venue for the WNBL games when you already have a venue locked in. The savings are the only reason Adelaide and others do back to back games already.
?
Years ago
i like back to back makes for a good night - have a meal in the apollo between
SNAFU
Years ago
Fantastic to see the fixes out and a vast improvement on last year.
Anonymous 712.
The WNBL has quite a complex history. Even its recent history is quite complex. Every club seems to fluctuate from barely surviving to the outward appearance of prospering.
The reality is every team is on the up and down roller coaster of financial struggles.
The suggestion to combine teams with NBL teams is not new. And Congratulations to the teams that are doing that successfully.
Unfortunately. No WNBL team generates positive cash flow on a consistent basis. They may generate a slim margin for one or 2 seasons and then it's back into cost management and financial struggles.
Larry Kestleman has been truly amazing for the NBL. Under his leadership and massive cash injections. The league has managed to recover from the dire straits, it was facing.
To suggest that Larry has the interest in the WNBL is a little bit of a stretch. There was actually an opportunity for him to be involved. When Bulleen was creating the second entity of Melbourne Boomers. This is prior to the announcement of the Melbourne United name. There were conversations between Bulleen Boomers and Melbourne Tigers, Larry, about the transfer of the WNBL team and the boomers name to Melbourne Tigers. Perhaps we could have been seeing a Melbourne Boomers Men's team.
Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately depending upon your viewpoint, the conversations broke down and Melbourne Boomers continues as an independent WNBL entity.
If you've been to any of the recent Melbourne Boomers home games and witnessed the level of spectator growth predominantly young girls. It can be easily argued that the 2012 Bulleen strategy has been a success. The women's game is not and should not be a curtain raiser for men's sport.
Cram
Years ago
I love the comment about "no WNBL team generates positive cash flow on a consistent basis. They may generate a slim margin for one or 2 seasons and then it's back into cost management and financial struggles" and then in the next breath acting like the NBL is in any better shape.
The difference? The NBL gets massive amounts of cash, sure, but that doesn't represent good business, just a rich benefactor.
SNAFU
Years ago
Cram The NBL was in a horrible situation prior to Larry Kestleman's involvement and yes, he absolutely put his money where his mouth was and congratulations to him for doing so.
However, I think you might find the massive cash injections being put into the NBL have reduced significantly in the last 18 to 24 months.
And yes, I do think the NBL is in much better financial position than the WNBL. With possibly the exception of Dandenong and a fabulous sponsor with Jayco. Massive cash injections are not something that the WNBL has experienced.
One or 2 WNBL clubs get a little bit of cash and invested straight back into player salaries.
Maybe with the exception Logan Thunder who invested in a coach. And history kind of shows that was an error.
for all those arguing for them to be aligned to mens teams, get over it. It isnt going to happen for every team where they play curtain raisers and nor should it be.
You talk about the growth of other womens sports, i.e. AFL but what sport that is successfull plays them as double headers? They should stand on their own two feet.
If the requirement to be aligned to an NBL program was there the winners of five of the last six WNBL seasons are Townsville and Bendigo, these teams should just be flicked??
SNAFU
Years ago
Women's sport absolutely has to stand on its own 2 feet. So I hope you've all bought your memberships to a WNBL club for this season.
Women's sport cannot be a curtain raiser if it is going to have any long term sustainability.
And now you know why Bulleen Boomers did not end up with the WNBL going to Melbourne United.
Good luck to the Melbourne Boomers, for the upcoming WNBL season and good luck to all teams.
AFLW is 100% propped up by the men's competition. Entry is free because the men's competition is paying for all costs. (Attendances were down last season btw, free and just season 2).
Club facilities are only there because the men's teams pay for them.
AFLW is an exact example of the men's competition propping up the women's league. Not the opposite.
Wnbl being aligned with the Nbl is a great thing for the women's game.
Anyone who doesn't see it that way knows nothing about business.
More exposure, less admin costs, cheaper marketing, etc etc.
Exactly, merge the two together and costs go down.
Errr and Cram hate to break it to you but every pro sport and league relies on benefactors and sponsorship. NBL is just better at it than WNBL.
SNAFU
Years ago
The moment you merge the womens and the men's games together, the womens team and games get scant focus and treated like an afterthought. A dedicated board for each WNBL team is what is required.
SNAFU, is well, SNAFUed for lack of a better word.
It's like a marriage where the male and female compliment one another and as they say "ladies first".
SNAFU
Years ago
For all of you who thing the women's team gets the same focus as the men's team when the teams are run by the same board have obviously never done anything more in basketball than watched from the side-lines.
no one says the same. Given the difference in the profiles of the league no one should expect the same.
Melbourne Boomers don't invest the same as Melbourne United so using the same for same argument is rubbish. As separate entities it isn't same for same now.
But the old 36ers/Lightning arrangement whereby the Club had joint sponsorship, member packages etc plus individual options, naming rights sponsors for both teams, increased player profiles, found work for the WNBL players outside of playing/studies was an example of an organisation using the joint resources to better both the mens and womens teams. Lightning three-peated in that time too and had enough interested to get big crowds to individual finals games, much bigger than any crowds since separation.
SNAFU
Years ago
The old 36/lightning model that worked so well it doesn't exist anymore. That's like saying Logan Thunder had good financial management
SNAFU that had nothing to do with the NBL/WNBL partnership.
FUBR
Years ago
So if the NBL/WNBL partnerships was so good with the 36's why did it end?
Men's side got sick of subsidising the women's.
Because the business was bigger than the NBL/WNBL teams. One bad decision in the past was targeted by a pro-AFL State Treasurer to deliberately destroy the sport to protect his beloved AFL.
SNAFU
Years ago
So the NBL/WMBL partnership only lasted while supported by the SA Government?
If you don't know the very public history of what happened to BASA and why then google it.
It had nothing to do with the positive outcomes for the NBL/WNBL teams, marketing, ticketing and importantly sponsorship dollar which has been the biggest bottoming out for the WNBL team since the break up.
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