Newcastle Falcons (NBL1 East)

Newcastle Falcons is a NBL1 East club based in Newcastle, New South Wales. The club fields a team in both the Men's and Women's NBL1 East. The club is a division of Newcastle Basketball, the major administrative basketball organisation in the region. The Falcons play their home games at Broadmeadow Basketball Stadium.

For the defunct NBL franchise of the same name, see Newcastle Falcons (basketball).

Newcastle Falcons
Newcastle Falcons logo
LeaguesNBL1 East
Founded1983
HistoryNewcastle Hunters
1983–2021
Newcastle Falcons
2022–present
ArenaBroadmeadow Basketball Stadium
Capacity2,200
LocationNewcastle, New South Wales
Team colorsRed, navy blue, white
     
PresidentKristi Faber
Vice-president(s)Kim Hartley
General managerNeil Goffet
Head coachM: Pete Astley
W: Chloe Mullaney
OwnershipNewcastle Basketball
Championships3 (1986, 2000, 2018) (M)
3 (2016, 2019, 2021) (W)
Websitenewcastlebasketball.com.au

Club history

In 1983, Newcastle Basketball began fielding a men's team in the South Eastern Basketball League (SEBL).[1] The Newcastle Hunters were SEBL champions in 1986 and runners-up in 1987.[2][3][4]

The SEBL became known as the SEABL in 1988 and in 1990, Newcastle Basketball entered a team in the inaugural SEABL women's competition.[1] The women's team was originally known as the Newcastle Scorpions.[5] Both the men's team and women's team left the SEABL following the 1998 season.[1]

In 2000, the Hunters men won the Basketball NSW Premier League.[6] The following year, the Premier Division was renamed the Waratah League, with the league joining the Australian Basketball Association (ABA).[7] The Hunters men were Waratah League runners-up in 2004, 2005, 2008 and 2011.[7]

In 2016, the Hunters women were crowned Waratah League champions for the first time.[8] In 2018, the men won their first championship since 2000.[9] In 2019, the women won their second championship in four seasons.[10] The 2021 women's championship was shared by the Hunters and the Sutherland Sharks after the season was cut short in August due to lockdowns as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.[11]

In late 2021, following the club's admission to the new NBL1 East competition replacing the Waratah League,[12] Newcastle Basketball surveyed the local community to gauge support for a potential rebranding of the club. The club was subsequently renamed the Newcastle Falcons (after the defunct national league NBL franchise of the same name) after 51% of the survey's respondents voted for the change of name.[13][14]

References
  1. "SEABL Ladders History" (PDF). seabl.com.au. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 July 2008.
  2. "ABA PREMIER AND RUNNERS-UP CLUBS". ababasketball.net.au. Archived from the original on 7 April 2001.
  3. "PAST CHAMPIONS". seabl.com.au. Archived from the original on 7 June 2002.
  4. "FORMER CHAMPIONS". seabl.com.au. Archived from the original on 25 June 2008.
  5. "NAME OUR TEAM". Newcastle Basketball. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
  6. Keeble, Brett (17 August 2018). "Newcastle Hunters aiming to do the double - winning both the men's and women's Waratah Basketball League grand finals". newcastleherald.com.au. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  7. "History". Waratah League. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  8. "2016 MOLTEN WARATAH LEAGUE CHAMPIONS". Waratah League. 15 August 2016. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  9. Gardiner, James (8 March 2019). "Basketball: Hunters ready to be the hunted in Waratah League championship defence". newcastleherald.com.au. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  10. Keeble, Brett (18 August 2019). "Basketball: Hunters save best for last to win championship". newcastleherald.com.au. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  11. "BASKETBALL NSW COMPETITIONS, HIGH-PERFORMANCE & COMMUNITY PROGRAMS UPDATE". bnsw.com.au. 12 August 2021. Archived from the original on 12 September 2021.
  12. "NBL1 East teams unveiled". NBL1.com.au. 21 October 2021. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  13. Gardner, James (30 October 2021). "Newcastle basketball fans vote to resurrect Falcons". Newcastle Herald. Australian Community Media. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
  14. "TAKING FLIGHT". Newcastle Basketball. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.