History of the North West Basketball Union Inc

Basketball on the North West Coast and West Coast of Tasmania began in the 1950's. During the 1960–1969 period as more and more associations joined the original clubs of Devonport, Ulverstone and Burnie, things really began to develop. Latrobe, Penguin, Wynyard, Smithton, Rosebery and Queenstown joined the three already established teams to form a Summer Intertown roster, which ran until1973.

This was very successful and many great weekends were held in each of the venues, especially the Queenstown trips, where a social evening was held and this was normally attended by all.

In 1974 the NWBU roster in its current format commenced minus the Somerset Basketball Association which was added to the roster in the early 1980's.

The NWBU roster grew consistently as the years progressed to the stage where import players, mostly from the USA, added excitement and anticipation to an already successful formula. All clubs have been through the highs and lows of trying to find the right import players to make their club successful. Things have changed slightly through the requirements of the Department of Immigration and now players are brought in through our SEABL Thunder programme and leased to the NWBU clubs.

The NWBU roster because of the parochial nature and competitive spirit that exists between the eight clubs/towns is highly regarded throughout Australia, and is certainly the bench mark in Tasmanian Basketball.

As mentioned we currently have men's and women's teams competing in SEABL, a semi-national competition. This is the top of basketballs pathway for local players, but they can progress from here to NBL, Australian teams, AIS and maybe International levels. Players such as Anthony Stewart, Marty Clarke and Matthew Knights are recent examples of players progressing to higher levels.

All of these players started in our North West Junior roster which includes all eight clubs/ towns in under 12, 14, 16, 18 and 22 levels as well as men's and women's teams. This allows a strong pathway for players to pursue state representation from under 14's onwards in National Championships and a pathway for our Referee's are all parts of Basketball development available to participants at all levels in the NWBU.

Our SEABL team has tasted success, winning the National final in 1996 plus playing in conference finals on three other occasions, including the 2004 Southern Conference Finals, which they won.

Having played in the Summer Intertown roster and been a part of the NWBU roster since it's inception in 1974 as a player, referee, coach and administrator, I am proud of the achievements that basketball has made on the North West and with 3000 plus current registered players the future of the North West Basketball Union seems assured.

L.A.COX

President 1982 -1993 and 1995 - 2013