Young basketballers wishing to work on the fundamental skills of the game are welcome to attend the Monday afternoon sessions at Saxby’s Stadium which will tip off on Monday from 4.00pm for the cost of a gold coin per participant.

The sessions have been free up to now but with winter closing in fast and darkness descending on Saxby’s Stadium before the sessions wrap up the gold coin admittance fee has been introduced to cover the court lighting costs.

There are not too many activities you can attend for a dollar or two that are provided in a safe and friendly environment, where fun abounds with the bonus being development of your skills in the great sport of basketball, so you should grab the opportunity each Monday afternoon at Saxby’s Stadium.

Many of the junior representative players attend these skills sessions and their worth can be gauged by the improved performance of the Taree Tornadoes teams on their recent weekend trip to Coffs Harbour.

The Taree Tornadoes travelled north to participate in round two of the 2015 Molten Waratah Northern Junior League where the win/loss ratios of all teams crept up slightly or remained steady.

The U14 boys and U18 girls recorded their first wins with boys downing the home team in a resounding performance which saw the score line blow out 50-16 at full time. The girls well and truly broke the ice also against Coffs Harbor when they managed to find a way to keep the scoreboard ticking over for the duration of the contest to finish with 82 points while keeping their opponents to 32 points.

The U14 girls came home the best performed of the four teams that represented the Taree Tornadoes over the weekend to travel back down the Pacific Highway with two wins from three games which now sees them sitting in the centre of the pack in the five team competition. The first game was a hard fought victory over Tamworth 38-32 which was followed by a loss to Bellingen before they bounced back in an overtime thriller, which saw them claim a 3 point win over Quirind 41 to 38. The Ballina Breakers and Bellinger Valley Braves are the top performers in this age division and with more experience under their belts the Taree Tornadoes girls will be right there when the finals series comes around early August in Tamworth. 

The U16 boys team had an exceptional round one weekend in Armidale last month when they claimed three wins from four games but this time around in round two found the win/loss ratio spun around with just one win from four games. The weekend started well with a hard fought victory against Port Macquarie 64-56 before going downhill with losses to Tamworth and competitions front runners, Bellingen Valley Braves and Quirindi. These results saw the team slip from third to fourth on the competition ladder but all is not lost as they are still in the race for a finals berth which can be achieve with improved performances throughout the next two rounds to be played in Lismore (May) and Port Macquarie (June) before the finals in Tamworth early August.  

On the domestic scene, Taree Basketball’s first venture into school basketball on Sundays at Saxby’s Stadium is gaining momentum and fun will be on offer for players from Kindergarten to Year 8 from Sunday, 03 May 2015, then through school terms two and three.

School team nominations close on Thursday, 30 April 2015 with Basketball NSW registration fees to be paid for new players and the weekly game fee set at just $5.00. Join us on Facebook taree.tornadoes or call 6551 7456 for more details. 

Junior and senior basketball fired up at Saxby’s Stadium during the week following the break for the school holidays and although the standard of play suffered from the lack of match fitness it was good to see all the players back enjoying the sport and the quality of play is sure to hot up in the coming weeks as teams build towards the finals series which will be played at Saxby’s Stadium late in June. 

The procedure for the movement of players between the times lots during the junior basketball competitions at Saxby's Stadium on Tuesday afternoons has been reviewed and players moving between the time slots will now have to be signed off at the office. The reason for this change revolves around the need for all participants to play primarily in their designated time slot and only play in another time slot when team numbers sit at 4 players or less in that other time slot. When this occurs, two players will be drawn from another time slot to bolster numbers and those two players will need to substitute for one another.

Basketball, everyone’s game, is played at Saxby’s Stadium and further information about the junior, women’s and men’s competitions may be obtained by calling 6551 7456, jumping on the website at www.taree.basketball.net.au or on www.facebook.com/taree.tornadoes