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\nSheanna Chadwick, youth player Chloe Allen, and Maddy Kilford at the first girls\u2019 basketball session at the Action Centre for Years 6-12 on October 16. Photo \/ Merle Cave<\/p>\n
A group of residents are hosting basketball sessions at the Action Centre this school term in an attempt to re-establish the Katikati Basketball Club for the community.<\/p>\n
Katikati residents Maddy Kilford, Sheanna Chadwick and Josh Hunt last week began hosting the sessions to gauge interest on reviving the club.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was a basketball club in Katikati about 10 years ago. It was run by Julie Aylwin and Jeanette O\u2019Brien, who had sons playing the sport,\u201d said Kilford. \u201cOnce they left, it kind of fizzled out. Girls\u2019 basketball went for a couple more years then fizzled out as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kilford and Chadwick had both played in the girls\u2019 team when they attended Katikati College and still hold a love for the sport.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow we\u2019ve both got fulltime jobs we have time to give something back to the community \u2013 so we\u2019re keen to get the club up and running again,\u201d said Kilford.<\/p>\n
Katikati College has a seniors boys\u2019 team playing in the Tauranga basketball league but no girls\u2019 teams, and the women were keen to change this.<\/p>\n
They approached the college with their idea to revive the club and secured use of the Action Centre for this term\u2019s sessions. Kilford and Chadwick are taking the girls\u2019 session.<\/p>\n
On Wednesdays, an adults\u2019 scrimmage is on from 6.30pm for those 18-plus. People can just turn up at Katikati College Action Centre and entry is $2.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is to get the wider community involved in the sport \u2013 and this could potentially lead into a team entering a league or tournaments in future,\u201d said Kilford.<\/p>\n
On Thursdays, Kilford and Chadwick take a girls\u2019 basketball session at the Action Centre for Years 6-12 from 5pm-6.30pm. The event is free and all abilities were welcome.<\/p>\n
\nSheanna Chadwick, youth player Chloe Allen, and Maddy Kilford at the first girls\u2019 basketball session at the Action Centre for Years 6-12 on October 16. Photo \/ Merle Cave<\/p>\n
On Fridays, a 3X3 boys\u2019 competition is at Action Centre for Years 5-13 from 3.30pm-7.30pm. Entry costs $10.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is run by Josh Hunt,\u201d said Kilford.<\/p>\n
Chadwick said they had initiated the three groups for this school term and would \u201csee how it goes\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe just wanted to see what kind of numbers we\u2019d get in terms of the girls\u2019 sessions, then we\u2019ll look to start a team next year based on interest.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kilford and Chadwick would like to enter a girls\u2019 team into the Tauranga basketball league \u2013 which is played at Mercury Baypark \u2013 next year in Terms 2 and 3.<\/p>\n
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Hunt would like to expand the senior boys\u2019 team playing in the Tauranga league \u2013 if there is interest.<\/p>\n
Chadwick said the focus is on getting youth involved \u2013 and currently they\u2019re trying to re-establish Katikati Basketball Club \u201con the back of the school\u201d. However, youth who don\u2019t attend Katikati College can get involved.<\/p>\n
According to Basketball New Zealand, basketball is the fastest growing sport at youth level in New Zealand.<\/p>\n
Moreover, with Steven Adams \u2013 a New Zealand professional basketball player for the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA) \u2013 now a household name in Aotearoa, and the Women\u2019s National Basketball Association (WNBA) hosting 30 teams, the popularity of the sport is growing again, said Chadwick.<\/p>\n
\u201cKids are kind of watching that a little bit more now, and getting interested,\u201d said Chadwick. \u201cWhereas when I started playing, I never watched basketball. I just followed my friends to trials and fell in love with it. Now [the sport] it\u2019s more on social media, which is gaining the interest of youth.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\nA bunch of girls listen to Maddy Kilford and Sheanna Chadwick talk basketball skills at the Thursday night session for Years 6-12 on October 16. Photo \/ Merle Cave<\/p>\n
Kilford believed that travel was a barrier to local families from entering the sport. \u201cWhat I think deters youth from here is that you have to travel to play,\u201d said Kilford.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you want to play for a Tauranga-based basketball club you have to travel for trainings and games.\u201d<\/p>\n
A local example was a boy who travelled to Tauranga regularly for trainings plus for two 10-minute games per week.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo we want to [set up this club] to make it more accessible for Katikati people but also potentially those from Waihi, Waih\u012b Beach, Pahoia, \u014cmokoroa as well,\u201d said Chadwick.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to create a centre of basketball that people can enjoy without having to drive to town.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kilford also wanted to make the sport available year-found instead of the traditional school Terms 2 and 3.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t want it to be something that just happens in winter. We want to encourage people to train throughout the year, so when you come into winter [to enter a team in a league] you\u2019re still warm and not starting from scratch,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s why we\u2019ve started this in Term 4 \u2013 to see who is interested \u2013 then Term 1 we\u2019ll get back into it and hopefully carry on, to enter teams into the youth league at Mercury Baypark come Term 2.\u201d<\/p>\n
From an initial meeting a few months ago between those interested, a new logo had been created and an internal club page \u201cwhere people can be added, for discussions on how to move things forward for now because this is very early stages\u201d, said Chadwick.<\/p>\n
Kilford said they will need people to help run the club \u2013 and that includes off-court roles too.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will need more volunteers \u2013 as we still need to form a committee and have people volunteer for roles such as coaches, umpires, team managers, etc.\u201d<\/p>\n
To get in touch about girls\u2019 basketball or volunteering for the re-establishment of Katikati Basketball Club, email: To register for the Friday night 3X3 boys\u2019 competition, contact Katikati College.<\/p>\n
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