Sports Minister Annika Wells commits to provide support for women’s basketball as participation outstrips access
With over 100,000 more women and girls taking up basketball in Australia since 2022, the federal government has committed to help fix a five billion grassroots participation problem.
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Federal Sports Minister Anika Wells has taken ownership of the fact leaders need to do more for women in sport and revealed how the government was attempting to unlock basketball’s $5 billion problem.
Last year, in a damning investigation, Code Sports revealed basketball’s monstrous growth had left the country short of over 900 courts, conservative estimates put an infrastructure cost of around $5 billion.
With over 100,000 more women and girls taking up the sport in Australia since 2022, there’s a critical lack of facilities at the grassroots — and a shocking lack of visibility at the elite level, both Opals and the WNBL.
The national team is ranked No. 2 in the world, won Olympic bronze in Paris and the WNBL is its breeding ground.
And yet, the Matildas’ profile dwarfs that of the Opals, while national domestic competitions in other sporting codes, like AFLW and WBBL, have streaked ahead of the ailing WNBL.
Wells had her first taste of international basketball at the 2022 FIBA World Cup in Sydney, where the GOAT Lauren Jackson put on a vintage 30-point performance to light up Canada and lead the Opals to bronze.
“I’m watching LJ come out of retirement, 20,000 people just dazzled by (her) performance and we came third — but it just can’t stop there,” Wells said.
“That would have lit a fire under how many hundreds of 1000s of Australian girls who were watching that.
“It’s not on the Opals to do anymore, It is on the leadership of sport, people like me, to do more for the women and girls coming through.”
The Minister is a realist that there is no quick fix for basketball after years of neglect — “It takes a while to turn the Queen Mary around”.
“Every sport has a bombastic stat for me about why they are most worthy of the next injection of funding,” Wells said.
“But basketball court space or even half-court space, even park half-court space, is at such a premium across the country, it is one of high need.”
New stadiums and courts are long, costly processes so, in a bid to fast-track solutions to meet the unrelenting demand, Wells said she was pushing for schools across the country to open the doors to allow the community to use their basketball courts.
“We’ve sent a communicae off to the national education ministers about ‘unlocking the gates’,” Wells said.
“There are a lot of courts and a lot of school space that has been funded by the taxpayer that could be used to unlock a lot more space for kids to play sport.
“In each different state, there’s all kinds of issues that prevent people from doing more of that, but we’ve highlighted that as a focus about where we want to go next, especially on the road to Brisbane 2032 (Olympics).”
Australia’s greatest basketballer Jackson, a five-time Olympic legend, knows first-hand the challenge of championing the game.
Through her program She Hoops, The GOAT has an army of the nation’s best ever players and young rising stars in the likes of Paris bronze medal captain Tess Madgen, superstar forward Cayla George and next-gen risers Jade Melbourne and Nyadiew Puoch who are reaching girls and women all over the country at a grassroots level.
But they remain underappreciated in the nation’s sports-mad landscape.
“They’ve recognised that we don’t get the exposure that we deserve and that women’s basketball deserves,” Jackson said.
“We’re great role models and the women in our sport have got so much to say.
“What we’ve seen with women’s sport is that people listen and it does change communities when they stand up and talk about things that are really important.
“Our women, they’re intelligent, they’re incredible, they’re athletic, they’re strong, and we want them to be able to lead and we want to promote that and support that as much as we can.”
What Jackson is saying is it’s no secret to anyone that women’s basketball has been left behind — but there is new hope.
Jackson and her right-hand woman Madgen are helping lead a groundswell of support behind the women’s game.
She believes it’s on the cusp of a new era, with Tesla chair Robyn Denholm and the high-powered NBL machine taking control of the WNBL in a bit over six weeks.
Jackson’s a special adviser to the new ownership, which is hiring 15 new expert staff, solely dedicated to the WNBL.
“It’s that visibility piece and I think what’s happening at the moment with the takeover of the WNBL is it’s going to create a lot more opportunities and promotion of the women’s game,” she said.
“There’s going to be significant investment into the production and the quality of the games.
“Obviously, the product is fantastic. It’s never been the issue.”
NBL chief executive David Stevenson agreed and said there was an expectation across the board for everyone with an interest in the WNBL to “elevate”.
“We’ve got some amazing players and athletes,” Stevenson said.
“What we’re challenging ourselves with is everyone needs to lift.
“We want to invest in the players to be able to help them become better.
“We want to attract back all the Australian players that are playing overseas.
“Want to attract more WNBA talent to play out here.
“We need the coaches to be able to elevate. We need the clubs to be able to elevate. Our marketing. The broadcast. Our venues.
“Every part of the ecosystem, we’ve got to elevate, because, if you don’t, then it’s just going to stay where it’s been but we all think the women’s game has great opportunities.”
She Hoops’ immediate future is assured — part of Wells “doing more” was a funding boost of nearly $1 million for Jackson’s programs, which includes basketball clinics, and mentorship programs that equip them with valuable skills like leadership, confidence-building and skills that will allow them to work in the sport as coaches, officials and administrators, long-term.
That funding will allow Jackson and her squad to reach even more girls, with plans for trips to remote communities like Tennant Creek in the Northern Territory.
“We’re able to get out into the communities, and that’s where we’ve had the most impact, the visibility and the representation of female athletes,” Jackson said.
“She Hoops is growing really, really quickly. Last year we had growth of 4-500 per cent online, and we’re now reaching thousands of kids a year.”
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