The NBL1 community's need for more courts

While basketball is booming across the country, there is one glaring issue preventing its potential – courts. 

Court availability and development are at the forefront of many clubs’ minds across the country. For example, the Victorian Eltham Wildcats (one of the largest associations in Australia) currently use eight different facilities to host over 345 teams’ training sessions each week. 

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While respective governments are putting significant funding into infrastructure, such as the 12-court State Basketball Centre upgrade and the Western Australian government committing $2 million for an indoor sporting facility in Perth’s inner southern suburbs, it’s still not enough to facilitate the influx of aspiring basketball players. 

Basketball WA’s CEO Nathan Cave explained just how important court access is to the overall health of basketball in the state. 

 “Across Australia, basketball is the fastest-growing sport for juniors, and in WA, it is on the cusp of overtaking AFL as the sport of choice for young athletes,” he told NBL Media. 

“The current demand far exceeds availability—resulting in thousands of children across WA being turned away from basketball programs due to limited space.

 “It is very important that safe and fit-for-purpose facilities meet the demand of the sport. Basketball facilities offer a huge return on investment for the community, not only engaging youth and promoting activity, but facilities are also often a beacon in communities for use by other sports and community programs.”

This is particularly an issue in Western Australia, especially for the Cockburn Cougars. For new CEO, Tia Ucich, she believes court availability is the number one issue for her club currently.  

Operating out of the Wally Hagan Basketball Stadium, one of the oldest stadiums in the state, the Cockburn Cougars are one of many clubs struggling to handle the growing interest in the sport. Their stadium hosts four courts, but they currently use five other facilities to just meet their current demand. 

“The board's done a really good job lobbying the need for a 10-court facility at the front,” she said. 

“Our local government understand the need for a new facility and are very supportive. We’re now waiting on state funding announcements in February… We’ll continue to advocate for it because our community really need and want it to happen. If we can get a shovel in the ground for 2027, it will alleviate so much of the demand that we currently have for people wanting to play and people on wait lists.”

With over 300 kids on the current waitlist to play for the Cougars, this issue hits heavily given her journey through the sport. Meeting most of her closest friends, mentors, and husband through the game of basketball.

She explained that without it, her life would be completely different. And knowing there are currently kids unable to have some of those amazing experiences due to court access, doesn’t sit right with the former NBL1 captain. 

“Sport plays an integral role in the development of kids, in particular it gives you community, gives you life skills, it can give you the relationships that might determine your future,” she said.

“I would not have met my husband. My bridal party looks very different on my wedding day. A lot of relationships would have perhaps not even formed. So it's pretty life-changing. It can sometimes sound like I’m overselling it, but for someone who has experienced it and knows plenty of others who have felt a similar impact by the sport, I don't think we can overstate it enough.”