LEONGATHA Basketball Association (LBA) board member Cara Carter welcomes the news that South Gippsland Shire Council has acted on her budget submission by halving court fees, but stresses there are still important issues to be rectified.
The basketball stadium’s leaky roof tops that list, rendering one of the centre’s two courts unplayable when it rains heavily.
Cara said leaks have caused playing surface issues, with buckling and ‘dead spots’ on which the ball doesn’t bounce as well as it should.
She acknowledged the fee cut will bring court charges in line with those at other basketball stadiums in South Gippsland Shire, but explained participant numbers make it impractical to run competition with only one court and that the roof issue needs to be resolved.
Cara said junior basketball participation in Leongatha is far higher than for football.
LBA faces a further hurdle in only having access to its courts when the pool is open, unless it pays increased fees, with Cara hoping a promised council investigation will help solve that issue.
“Council has recently tendered a new contract for management and operation of selected aquatic venues within South Gippsland Shire, including the stadium at SPLASH,” a council spokesperson said.
“Evaluation and negotiation of submitted tenders is currently underway, which includes considerations for increased venue opening hours.”
YMCA is the contractor currently responsible for day-to-day operation and maintenance of the facility, with council responsible for asset renewal when required.
Cara said leaks at the stadium began causing competition implications in 2015, with council lobbied to rectify the roof issues.
However, while council ultimately funded replacement of all the roof sheeting, the work carried out last year hasn’t fixed the issue.
A council spokesperson stressed that ongoing attempts are being made to rectify the situation.
“Despite repeated efforts to address the issues, we acknowledge that leaks continue to appear; these leaks are complex in nature and the causes are difficult to identify,” the spokesperson said.
“They will continue to be treated as defects under the contract and will remain the responsibility of the roof contractor.
“Council apologises for the ongoing inconvenience to stadium users caused by the recurring leaks to the SPLASH stadium roof, and council and the contractor remain committed to addressing the issues to achieve a leak-free roof.”
Although council classifies the leaks as minor in the sense that water is dripping rather than gushing in and won’t flood the stadium, it doesn’t mean it is downplaying the potential problems the leaks can trigger.
“It is acknowledged that the impacts and inconvenience aren’t necessarily minor and there is a risk that, if left uncontrolled, the leaks could adversely impact the court surface,” the council spokesperson said.
Furthermore, it was stated that council manages any necessary repairs to the court surface using a specialist contractor when required.
Cara spoke about the financial impact of the ongoing roof issues, saying that while LBA is a not-for-profit organisation, it aims to put money back into running basketball.
“Up to May when we put the budget submission in, we’ve lost $180,000 worth of turnover since the Covid return to sport,” Cara said.
“We’re now off the court again.”
While pop up games of basketball are held, dependent on weather, Cara said consistent competition is not possible during winter.
She said the situation also impacts referees who lose income when the leaks force a halt in competition.
“We’ve lost nearly three full domestic seasons,” Cara said.
She added that while volunteer retention poses difficulties everywhere in the current climate, it is even more testing for LBA given the ongoing battle to enable players to take the court.
Cara said volunteers shouldn’t be placed in the position of determining whether the water- affected court is safe for play.
“We have to make unpopular decisions,” she said, with such decisions including calling off competition, whether having to cancel or reschedule.
“The members have had enough, and it’s difficult to make that call time and time again.”
LBA wants to get across the message that it provides much more than competition.
“We’re offering an outlet for adults to play sport to support their mental health,” Cara said.
She said LBA’s emphasis on participation, fun and good sporting attitude is the key to its growing success.
