Page 53 - BWA 2021 ANNUAL REPORT

PARTICIPATION
Michael Cake Participation Manager
BASKETBALL CONTINUES TO RIDE A WAVE OF POPULARITY
Despite the impacts of Covid-19 over the past couple of years, basketball continues to ride a wave of popularity, which is reflected in our participation numbers.
Well over 1 million people are now playing basketball nationally and the sport is growing at a much faster rate (19% per annum) than any other team sport.
In Western Australia, the latest Ausplay survey estimates that there are over 180,000 participants, with competitive members registered with Basketball WA exceeding 55,000 for the first time in 2021.
Our school and introductory programs rebounded strongly in 2021, following the impacts of Covid-19 in the previous year. In particular, Aussie Hoops reached record levels, with more than 7,600 registrations across WA. This represents a doubling of our Aussie Hoops program over the past two years.
FUEL TO GO AND PLAY SCHOOL SLAM SERIES
Our Fuel to Go and Play School Slam Series bounced back strongly this year after a Covid affected year in 2020. We had record levels of engagement, with now almost 100 schools participating in our carnivals and more than 2,400 participants across the series.
The aim of the series is to provide a safe, inclusive and fun environment for young children as an early entry point to basketball. The success of the program can be seen in the number of girls keen to play in our carnivals, with almost 50% of all participants being female. Many of these girls are new to basketball and are trying the sport for the first time.
The series also aims to help build better connections between schools and their local basketball Association.
Basketball WA embarked on a new branding exercise this year to help us better promote the School Slam Series to schools, teachers and students, with a focus on developing logos that will appeal to a young audience. Our new logos were released towards the end of the year and will continued to be rolled out in 2022. Our ambition is to position the Fuel to Go and Play School Slam Series as the market leading product, with basketball as the sport of choice in Western Australian primary schools.
The annual Fuel to Go and Play Champions Cup took place in November, bringing together the top 16 boys’ and girls’ teams from across the series for the right to be named the best basketball school of the year. Leschenault Catholic Primary School took out the title in the boys’ competition after several years near the top. In the girls’ competition, Shelley Primary School won at their very first attempt after only joining the School Slam Series this year.
Basketball WA would like to thank Healthway for their ongoing support and our school partners - School Sports WA and SEDA College - for helping us to deliver the series. The program continues to provide a great platform for educating young people about the benefits that sport can provide in maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
“ over 1 million people are now playing basketball nationally”
BWA ANNUAL REPORT 2021 | 53