“It’s just sad:” Championship player uncertain of future in WNBL after Boomers go bust

Boomers forward Penina Davidson is undecided if she will play for another WNBL team or return home to New Zealand after Melbourne Boomers was forced to transfer its WNBL licence.

Penina Davidson was caught off guard when learning of the Boomers’ licence transfer. Picture: Sarah Reed/Getty Images.

Australia’s oldest elite women’s sporting club is no more and players are waiting on answers.

With two championship titles - the most recent only two years ago - and 18 finals series since their launch in 1984, the demise of the Melbourne Boomers WNBL franchise has left a void in the Australian sporting landscape.

Boomers’ championship player Penina Davidson said the playing group was aware of potential ownership movement in the off-season, but learning the extent of the changes shortly after the team’s semi-final loss caught them off-guard.

“It was a massive shock,” Davidson said. “We knew there was going to be a change in ownership throughout the whole season but what I never thought was going to happen was a relocation and handing over the licence.

“You knew something was getting shaken up because we didn’t have our regular chats about coming back.”

Penina Davidson is unsure of her future in the league after learning of the Melbourne Boomers WNBL licence transfer. Picture: Alix Sweeney.

Boomers players are facing an uncertain future after the club’s licence was transferred to Geelong following a period of financial struggle.

It is unclear whether Geelong will take on Boomers players or build a roster from scratch. And with WNBL free agency delayed again, this time until June, some of the best female basketball players in the league have been left in limbo.

Having spent the past five years playing and living in Melbourne, Davidson told CODE Sports she was torn between seeking a new contract elsewhere in the WNBL and returning home to New Zealand.

“I don’t know what to do now, I would’ve happily played for the Boomers for another five years,” Davidson said. “Now what? Can I picture myself playing for another WNBL team or do I go back home to New Zealand? I’m not sure.”

She continued: “It’ll be up to the new ownership and coach down there. We sit and wait, and I’ll consider if I still want to be part of the WNBL.”

When asked if Basketball Australia or the Australian Basketball Players Association had reached out to her since the collapse of the Boomers, Davidson replied: “No.”

Melbourne Boomers won the WNBL title only two years ago. Picture: Kelly Defina/Getty Images.

On the surface, the 2021-22 champion Boomers appeared to be in a healthy state. The club was posting respectable crowd numbers at the “Boom Box”, their home court, averaging 2,304 in a 3,000 capacity venue across the 2023-24 season.

The Boomers had also recruited successfully from overseas with WNBA import Jordin Canada named WNBL 2023-24 season MVP. And the introduction of an elite academy program, announced only two months ago, indicated the Boomers’ intent to develop the next generation.

“I’m devastated for our fans, I may be biased but we have some of the best fans in the league,” Davidson said. “There was such a crew around us. They were so involved and we’d got to know some of them, so I feel sad for the fans. They don’t have a women’s basketball team to support anymore.”

Boomers fans will need to find a new WNBL team to support after the team lost its licence. Picture: Kelly Defina/Getty Images.

The Boomers enjoyed success off the court, too, as was demonstrated in “Sidelined: The Fight for Equality in Women’s Basketball”, a four-part series that followed the team through its 2021-22 season. In it, the club led the charge for equality in the women’s league, with standards obvious to Davidson when she faced them on an away trip with her former team.

“It was something you wanted to be part of,” she said. “I was on the sidelines warming up (for Adelaide) thinking I wanted to be part of that club. It’s run so professionally and everyone looked like they were having a blast.”

Still, despite the positive takeaways from the 2023-24 season, the Boomers’ financial situation ultimately proved untenable and chair Tony Hallam confirmed that, after eight years, the club’s private ownership group could not continue to fund the team.

“Sadly this outcome reflects the very real financial challenges which professional women’s sport faces, and in particular the WNBL, where the current funding structure of the League requires that Club operations are fully funded by Club owners,” Hallam said in a statement.

Australian Opals captain and key WNBL player Tess Madgen played a stint at Tauihi Basketball Aotearoa in 2023. Picture: ANDY CHEUNG / AFP.

With BA exploring new WNBL ownership, a fresh CBA under negotiation with the ABPA and unease among league players, the New Zealand women’s basketball league could emerge as a competitor for elite talent.

Tauihi Basketball Aotearoa recently announced the 2024 season would see a doubling of player salaries and a shift in timings, with the two month season to be wrapped by the end of the year.

The league attracted the likes of Opals captain and WNBL favourite Tess Madgen last year.

“The New Zealand league, they’re really shaking things up … (and) the hard part is that they’ve shifted it to the WNBL season timing which is going to make players choose and it’s going to be competitive,” Davidson said.

“There’s lots to be excited about, basketball for two months and done by Christmas. It opens players up to take on other contracts and opportunities in Europe and Asia.”

Originally published as “It’s just sad:” Championship player uncertain of future in WNBL after Boomers go bust