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Northern Tasmania’s NBL1 South basketball clubs are unusual, with the Launceston Tornadoes operating just a women’s team, and the North West Thunder running a men’s team.
No other NBL1 South club operates like this.
That has set off a series of twists and turns.
August 2018 – Basketball Australia disbands the SEABL
At the time, Tasmania’s three clubs, the Launceston Tornadoes, North West Thunder and Hobart Chargers were all united in believing that there needed to be a second-tier competition.
October 2018 – Basketball Victoria launches NBL1
The demise of the SEABL led to the creation of the NBL1 model, which would be adopted by state leagues around the nation in the years to come.
In collaboration with the NBL, this new league, which is now known as NBL1 South, would consist of Victoria’s and Tasmania’s former SEABL clubs, as well as four Big V clubs.
Change was on the horizon, particularly for Northern Tasmania’s clubs.
Launceston Tornadoes player Keely Froling in their last home game for 2025 against Mt Gambier. Picture by Craig George
April 3, 2025 – Deadlines set
The Examiner reported that there would only be one signatory on the Northern Tasmania NBL1 South licence for 2026 and beyond.
According to Basketball Tasmania, the move had been earmarked for “at least four to five years”.
It meant that if both clubs wanted to continue their existence and to provide a pathway for the region’s brightest basketball talents, collaboration on a joint licence submission would be necessary.
June 29, 2025 – Relations fall through
Just a week after Basketball Tasmania released a statement outlining its expectations for a licence bid, somewhat unexpectedly, the Launceston Tornadoes released a statement detailing how the joint submission process had gone and the club’s next steps going forward.
“The Thunder have made it clear that they do not believe it is financially or operationally viable to run a dual program across both Launceston and the North West, despite not engaging in any material discussions with us,” the statement read.
It meant that both organisations submitted independent bids to Basketball Victoria, causing great concern within the basketball community as to how the sport’s future in Northern Tasmania looked.
The Launceston Tornadoes huddled at a time-out. Picture by Craig George
July 18, 2025 – Original bids submitted
This was the original day that licence bids had to be submitted by, with a decision set to be made on August 6.
Little did we know that there was a lot of work being done behind closed doors to move these deadlines around so a joint submission could be formed and submitted.
July 25, 2025 – Basketball Tasmania states its position
In a media release, Basketball Tasmania announced that it would not be endorsing either bid, leaving the decision entirely in the hands of Basketball Victoria as administrators of the league.
“(The submissions) do not adequately meet the outlined requirements or reflect the expectations and needs of North and North-West Tasmanian basketball communities,” the statement read.
August 1, 2025 – New deadlines and collaboration
It looked as if, with the help of Basketball Tasmania, a joint bid would finally happen and Basketball Victoria would accommodate it by allowing the submission to be made by August 29.
A project manager was appointed by Basketball Tasmania to oversee the process.
But there was yet another twist to the tale.
Members of the 1995 national championship-winning Launceston Tornadoes Trudi Jordan, Mandy Gibson, coach Michael House, Liz Dixon and current head coach Zoë Mesman. Picture by Paul Scambler
August 6, 2025 – Union unlikely again
The Advocate spoke with Thunder chairperson James Leslie and it was clear that the Thunder would not be participating in the collective process set out by Basketball Tasmania.
“We have advised [BTas] that we hold no interest in being pressured into a collective submission process facilitated by them after our efforts to appease their conditions to date without any justification for declining our original submission,” Leslie told The Advocate.
The first meeting for this joint submission was August 7.
August 8, 2025 – Torns plot their path forward
The Tornadoes reiterated that they were committed to a model that split games and administration between the two regions and would work with Basketball Tasmania to achieve this.
They also committed to making the submission process more public, so that local councils and stakeholders could understand what was being proposed.
The final submission to Basketball Victoria will be made on August 29.
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