NEWCASTLE has been included in the new NBL1 East competition for 2022.
to vote.
What is yet to be decided is what brand name the Newcastle team will carry into the new competition, which replaces the Basketball NSW Waratah League, and your association wants your help in making the decision.
The NBL has joined forces with Basketball NSW in announcing details of the new NBL1 East competition, and the board and management of Newcastle Basketball saw this as an opportunity to potentially refresh and re-brand.
“It’s a very exciting time for basketball in NSW and indeed throughout Australia at the moment,” Newcastle Basketball general manager Neil Goffet said.
“We just thought the timing was right to have a look back over our shoulder before moving ahead with what promises to be an incredible era for the sport in this region.
“It’s always difficult implementing change because people get very passionate about their name, nickname or club colours and things like that.
“But we just thought it was time to perhaps let our history shape our future, and we want the basketball community to have their say.”
We are conducting a survey and have listed what we think will be some of the most popular names, but you can also suggest your own by selecting “Other” in the options when you to cast your vote.
Options include the Newcastle Falcons, who were part of the inaugural NBL competition back in 1979, and the Hunter Pirates who played in the NBL from 2003-2006.
In 1983 the association fielded a men’s team in the second-tier South East Australian Basketball League (SEABL) and they were called the Newcastle Hunters.
The women’s team joined the SEABL competition in 1986 and were known as the Newcastle Scorpions, and the first nickname given to our junior rep teams was the Newcastle Hustlers.
The Newcastle Pirates is a combination of our two former NBL clubs.
The NBL1 East competition is set to start in April, 2022 and will allow NSW to fall into line with other Australian states that have already joined forces with the privately owned NBL by playing in the second-tier NBL1 competition.
Victoria has been playing under the NBL1 South banner since 2019, while Queensland (NBL1 North), Western Australia (NBL1 West) and South Australia (NBL1 Central) joined forces with the NBL in 2020.