General News

TO ALL



As from 7th September the office at SDBAL may only be contacted using the 07 3398 2790 phone number.


Number 3843 3133 will no longer be available.


A reminder that the office is now only open on the following times.


Monday 12 noon to 4pm

Tuesday Closed

Wednesday 11am till 4pm

Thursday 11am till 4pm

Friday 11am till 3pm



The best way to contact the office is by email on development_sdbal@bigpond.com


For those wanting to shoot around during the day time we suggest that you contact office prior to coming to the stadium. A fee of $2 will be charged for members of SDBAL and $3 for players from other Associations. This must be paid prior to starting to shoot around. NO EXCEPTIONS.

Please ensure that you alter your contact records avoiding delays in dealing with the office.



Best Regards,

Allan Ladewig

General Manager

[Spartans]

Spartans Farewell Big Joe

Long time Southern District Spartans Team Manager and Brisbane Bullets Manager Big Joe is scheduled to depart the shores of Australia on Tuesday 23 September 2009 to take up a management role with Cyprus based professional basketball Club, Seastar Apoel.

Having played all his junior basketball at the Southern Districts Basketball Association and more recently been the Team Manager of the Brisbane Bullets for the past 9 seasons, the basketball community in general will be losing a very big personality.

With the recent demise of the Brisbane Bullets the second time around, it became apparent that Big Joe was not going to find a home in the NBL for the upcoming 08/09 season.

“I went down to Melbourne and contacted the clubs whom I am close with but the second time we went down was simply too late and a lot of them had already made arrangements for the role to be filled,” Big Joe stated.

“I was one week too late with one club and just two days too late with another but that’s the nature of the game and this industry,” he added.

Having a double bachelors degree in business, Big Joe was nearly forced to return to the books as an accountant before getting an early morning 1am call from good friend and former Bullets head coach, Joey Wright.

“I was driving back from the Coast and got a text message saying to pick up the next call from a private number,” Big Joe said.

“It was Joey (Wright) who asked me if I’d be keen to join him over there, if a deal could be put in place. He called and we finalised it all and now I’m off,” he concluded.

Big Joe has been an extremely popular member of the basketball community here in Brisbane and throughout the nation, having involvement in just about all aspects of basketball from juniors to seniors both nationally and internationally.

“There is no doubt he will be missed by the entire basketball community,” Spartans General Manager Allan Ladewig said.

“He is extremely well liked, gets along with everyone and is just one of those guys who you know will be at any basketball event helping out where needed. I know we will miss him immensely.”

He has managed Queensland State teams, the Spartans junior and senior men’s teams in the QABL and SEABL to name a few, has co-organised State and National Championships and was an instrumental part of the all conquering Brisbane Bullets team of 06/07 who won an amazing 26 games straight enroot to the NBL Championship.

“Everything is just going so fast right now. I am really going to miss Brisbane, the people here and of course my mates,” Big Joe said.

“There is so many people I need to thank, but the three main people who stick out in my mind are Narelle Kelly (Former Bullets Operations Manager) Madonna Grimley (Virginblue Groups) and Eddy Groves (Former Bullets Owner) for everything over the past 9 wonderful seasons.”

Club Apoel requested Big Joe arrive in Nicosia on Monday 8 September 2008 but this was simply impossible but flights have now been confirmed to depart Brisbane next Tuesday, 23 September 2008.

“The first preference is to stay here in Brisbane, there is no doubt about that, but at this stage, that’s not looking likely. If a job opportunity presents itself before next Monday, I would stay in a heartbeat,” he concluded. “ I will of course be checking out players, while in Europe, for the Arrow Caravan and Towbar Spartans, my home town SEABL team. We already have some huge signing in Mick Hill, Adam Gibson, Greg Vanderjagt and at least three other current NBL players along with one of Australia’s best coach’s, making the trek to Carina in 2009”.

With that in mind and pending a working VISA approval by the Cypriot Consulate at this stage, it’s full steam ahead. The European season is scheduled to end on 25 April 2009 with Big Joe will return to Brisbane early April 2009 and will re-link back into the SEABL with the Southern Districts Spartans and hopefully the new Brisbane based NBL structure currently under review.

ENDS
For Further Information please contact: sdbal@bigpond.net.au

It is with great sadness that the Spartans on Friday lost one of the men who made it all possible, Mr Trevor Bishop.

Trevor was not a basketballer but in his role with the Clem Jones Youth Centre was one of the people who made things possible. His tireless work for the community saw many things accomplished under his management and direction. He was the current driving force behind the Clem Jones Trust which built the Rowland Cowan Stadium and was driving many of the new extensions planned within the grounds.

Trevor was a person who did things for the ciommunity. A volunteer and administrator till the end Trevor made lots of things possible for our community and Association.

Southern Districts has lost a great man but he will not be forgotten.

Thanks Mr Bishop.

Allan ladewig
SDBAL

[Spartans]

Big Joe’s Blog #4 – I’m Back

So after either being lazy or just too busy, I thought I’d better update what’s happening on my side of the world.

I have now been here for just over 5 weeks and after an admitted slow start, I’m starting to really like it. I got my unit, I got my car and I got my first pay cheque so it’s all happening.

I must admit, my eyes have been wide open. Things are so different needless to say and I am trying my hardest to get used to it.

October 3 was the worst day of all though, just extremely homesick, plus it was my birthday and to not be at home for that is a big thing for me personally. I did however receive a stack of texts so thank you all. I did feel loved although was prepared to jump on a plane and come home, that day!

From previous blogs, I wanted to let you know that the condition of the court is slowly getting better with my expert sweeping, consisting of a wet towel and a scissor mop. Although here, they don’t have the big fold out one, they have one small mop about 1 metre wide so I’m getting my daily workout just by cleaning the floors every day.

Mick Tarrant from Auchenflower would be extremely impressed with my sweeping techniques. Although I nearly fell over when I went into training yesterday and the Stadium Manager was actually doing the floor. WOW, he was actually doing his job!

I am still living at Joey’s house. My unit has been ready for the past few weeks now and I have moved a few items in there but haven’t actually moved MYSELF in there yet. Actually, Joey doesn’t want me to leave is the real reason.

The only drama at Joey’s is that there is no Internet. It’s been killing me but the other day the funniest thing happened. I was in his backyard just sitting in the sun playing on my laptop and noticed the wireless icon was on half. So I just opened up Safari to try and BINGO, I was online!!! I screamed and woke Joey up and we were like two kids with candy. It was so funny, you had to be here obviously to really appreciate it.

So we’re out in his backyard every minute of the day we are home on our laptops stealing Internet from one of his neighbours. But prior to that, we found a unsecured wireless connection just down the road, so we’d jump in his car at 11pm at night and sit in front of a random house for an hour or so just to get online.

After a grooling pre-season (11 games in 15 days) and only 2 wins from them all, we had our first Championship game last Monday against Enad at home. They were considered an “easy” team and it showed right from the start.

Our Captain and centre, JoJo Garcia hit like the first 8 points and we were off and rolling. The lead ballooned out to as much as 28 throughout the game however we ended up winning that game by 12 points. Bottom line, a win is a win. We’ll take it any way we can.

We have our second game tomorrow night on the road and then our first weekend off in a long long time. So I’m off to Athens for the weekend to visit Brad Newly and watch him play a game.

Oh I forgot to mention that I went to France a couple of weeks ago for a game against Vichy. It was a Euro Cup Challenge game. Like a totally separate tournament from our regular season and it’s straight knock out. We play a team twice, once at home and one away and the difference of both games is calculated to see who advances.

Unfortunately we lost at home and on the road so the difference doesn’t matter. We were knocked out, however it was my first time in France and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Not this weekend, but the following, we play a team called Ael. Now apparently, Ael is like our biggest, fiercest, most hated rival in the competition. I’m talking State of Origin rival. That much hatred apparently and, while I haven’t experienced it yet, you can tell there is so much hate right there.

It’s the big dog versus the little dog. They have a massive budget, we have a normal budget. They have a big stadium, we have a normal stadium. They’re always meant to beat us, but we always win. So the story goes. I’m really looking forward to it.

Oh and the fans, WOW. The fans here are amazing! They come in with massive drums and whistles and sing and dance ALL GAME. Even during free throws, they just keep singing and dancing. I’m talking thousands all singing and clapping at the top of their lungs. I will try to get video of it but if you youtube APOEL BASKETBALL FANS you will get a rough idea.

It’s simply amazing and I have been told what we saw last week at our first regular season game was nothing compared to what they dish out during the playoffs. I’m really looking forward to that also.

Until next time,
Big Joe
Cyprus Mobile: +357 9778 3873
Oh and I have Skype now so feel free to add me.
My Skype name is bigjoeincyprus or thebiggestman@hotmail.com

[Spartans]

Big Joe’s Blog #5 – Last week spat on, this week Stadium Destruction & Riot



So, after last week’s disgusting antics by the home crowd towards us while on the road, last night we returned home to what I thought would have been a much less hostile and safer environment, for us anyway.



How wrong I was!



We played a team called Ael. Now, word around the traps is that this is the most hated rival of my team. Like total distain for one another. Hatred doesn’t even begin to describe the relationship between these two clubs.



I’m talking State of Origin, times 100-type hatred. Australia v England Rugby World Cup type hatred. Detroit Pistons v Chicago Bulls back in the day type hatred. Are you all getting the picture?



I get to the stadium a couple of hours before tip off and already I see the signs of an expected big night. I was told to park my car down and around the corner from the stadium. I walk into the stadium and I see riot police. I’m talking 20 – 30 of them compared to the usual 3 uniformed police we have during home games.



Anyway, I set up our change room and relax a little bit. Team Ael arrive and they actually seem like a bunch of nice blokes. A couple of them speak to me, and a couple of my players and every thing seem to be hunky dory.



Every thing else just seems normal. Team talk, then warm ups, no worries. The crowd is much bigger then I’ve ever seen and they are in voice. The big drums are there and they begin their chants and hated all aimed at Ael.



Now the fans are about 1.5 meters from the sideline, elevated by about 2 meters so they are close, they pretty much sit on top of you. None of the Ael players wanted to go anywhere near the sideline. I noticed during warm ups that a ball of theirs was knocked onto the sideline and they just left if there. They weren’t game enough to go get it right under the Apoel fans.



So, the game starts and the chanting does too. They are loud. Real loud! It was really amazing and I took some video footage on my phone but I don’t know how to upload it yet, but when I do, you’ll be the first to see it, don’t worry.



Four minutes into the game, the refs make a couple of calls against us. The fans start a chant in Greek, saying something to the effect that the refs mother is a whore, plus a bunch of other things I just can’t write. So the refs decide to run off the court and into their change rooms much to the dismay of the fans.



As they run into the tunnel, the fans start throwing coins, drinks, bottles, cigarettes and pretty much anything they could find at them. So the game stops for about 10 minutes to clean up the court and settle the fans down. I have never seen anything like that before.

The refs finally come back out and like the Ael players, none of them wanted to run the sideline where our fans are. I watch as they do and our fans are spitting on them and the Ael players just like I was getting spat on last weekend on the road. It’s horrible to see, it really is. Very disappointing and extremely disgusting!



So back to the reason why we are all there, the game. It’s a good one. Ael take the lead early by as much as 12 points but we reel them in and take the lead on a massive three point bomb from point guard Lonnie Cooper and the place erupts.



The fans find another pitch in their voices and the noise reaches a deafening crescendo. Oh and I forgot to mention, every time Ael had the ball, everyone in the stadium started whistling. Like that loud whistle that people do when they stick two fingers in their mouths? DEAFENING!



So we have the lead coming into the fourth quarter but Ael make a run and we end up losing the game by 5 or 6 points. As soon as the final buzzer goes off Ael does everything they can to get out of the floor area as soon as possible. On their way out, one of the Ael players has an altercation with one of my Committee members and it’s on. On like Donkey Kong!



About 200 of the fans climb over the barrier, onto the court and into the tunnel throwing anything they could find. Chairs, bottles, cigarettes, rocks and I’m not talking small rocks, I’m talking rocks the size of tennis balls. In fact the coach of Ael got hit in the head with a rock!



It’s mayhem in the tunnel area, my team and I are still on the floor waiting for it all to subside and luckily they were our fans so they didn’t want to kill us at least. Finally things die down a little and we manage to get through into the change room.



Now our change room is right next to the visitors change room. I’m outside ours waiting for team talk to end and I hear the sound of glass smash. The fans were throwing rocks at the window of the Ael change room. They tore off the bars, got into their change room and stole and destroyed everything.



We got them out of their change room and into ours, as we knew our fans wouldn’t smash our change room. While this is happening, 200 of the fans are trying to push through 6 or 7 of the riot police who have helmets and those body length shields to get to the Ael players and pretty much kill them!



So we are all in this tiny hallway, some of the players and coaches are in the showers of the change rooms as that was the safest place to be but JoJo and I are on the front line because I was outside doing ice and they sent JoJo out to try and calm the fans down as he is a major big time player here. He’s like Leroy Loggins was at home in his hay day.



Plus all the showers were full with my players, Ael players and staff so we really had nowhere else to go to hide or even protect ourselves.

JoJo runs back and says to me, “get back man, they’re not going to stop until they get in here, they’re right there,” and at that point I was terrified! I could see it in JoJo’s face that he was shaky too. I peak around the corner and the crowd is like right there at the glass doors. I’m talking a meter and a half away from storming the hallway to the change rooms.



Everyone is terrified at this point as there was no escape at all. No fire door, nothing. If those fans made it in, I have no idea what would have or could have happened.



While all this is happening, I hear glass smashing, I see flares being lit, newspapers being set on fire and thrown at us, screaming, loud bangs and so much noise. It was like something you’d see in the movies!



Everyone is on their phones calling the Police and once they finally arrive, the crowd disperses, but that was after about 20 minutes of constant bombardment to us, and the stadium.



So they all leave and things quieten down. It’s safe for us all, both teams to leave the showers in the change rooms and see the aftermath. I walk out to take a look, I head down the hallway to the glass door, which are smashed and ripped off the hinges.



It’s a war zone. A big rubbish bin dumpster was thrown in the foyer area, the rubbish in it was set on fire. Every window smashed, glass everywhere, doors torn off hinges, rocks the size of tennis balls and BIGGER all over the floor that was obviously thrown in by the fans.



It was total destruction out there. We were so lucky the building was made of besser bricks otherwise we’d have been done. A terrible way to end the night and what was a really good game. Yes we lost, but the game was awesome, the fans singing and cheering was awesome and then this is how the night ended.



I was scared. I’m a grown ass man, and I’m happy to say that I was terrified! Well not happy but not ashamed to say that I was scared. Maybe if I wasn’t on the frontline I’d have been less scared, but I was scared!



I thought I had seen it all but this is a whole new level. If this was done to us but OUR OWN FANS in our own building, can you imagine what the Ael fans will do to us when we go to their place?



I know this; I don’t think I will be here long enough to find out.



Will most probably see you all real soon,

Big Joe

Cyprus Mobile: +357 9778 3873

Email: thebiggestman@hotmail.com

[Spartans]

MEDIA RELEASE


Southern Districts Spartans are proud to announce the latest corporate partner in Love Living as part of the 2009 SEABL campaign.

“Love Living” is the latest company that provides on line marketing to Australian homes through the internet.

“The company has great products and will, over time, generate an ongoing income for our membership and programs” offered Allan Ladewig, General Manager of the Spartans.

From January 2009 members will be able to shop from home using the on line link at www.sdspartans.basketball.net.au. All sales will generate additional income to the Association on top of the sign on fee that we will receive along with signage and in kind support on an annual basis.

“This leaves us in a great position for the 2009 season as we start the recruitment of players towards our quest to have both the men and women playing in the South East Australian Basketball Leagues final series” Ladewig went on to add.


ENDS email sdbal@bigpond.net.au Phone 3398 2790

SEABL DEFIES BASKETBALL GLOOM WITH GROWTH
SEABL General Manager Mark Chivers has announced the Dandenong Basketball Association and the Southern Basketball Associations (Sandringham) have applied to join SEABL in 2009. The applications are subject to ratification by Basketball Australia and, providing there are no problems, the teams will participate in the 2009 competition.

Together the teams make SEABL stronger than ever before. Dandenong, SEABL champions in 1986, 1997, and 2004, returns to SEABL after participating in the Big V competition from 2005 through 2008. Sandringham, a perennial finalist in the Big V and regular participant in the annual ABA national finals, joins SEABL for the first time; but in national ABA competition Sandringham has amply demonstrated that it’s more than prepared to step up to SEABL. Dandenong and Sandringham join a national league with clubs in Victoria, New South Wales, ACT, South Australia, Queensland, and Tasmania.

According to Simon Brookhouse, SEABL Chairman, the addition of these two associations to SEABL means 8 of the strongest basketball associations in Australia are now participating in the league. Both Sandringham and Dandenong bring women’s teams to SEABL as well as their men’s teams. In addition, each association is noted for its strong junior program with its junior teams regularly vying for honours in the Victorian junior championships. With strong junior programs Sandringham and Dandenong epitomise SEABL’s policy of providing clearly defined pathways for basketball juniors to move from elite junior basketball to elite senior competition.

In the past decade SEABL has delivered not only top flight competition and entertainment to its audiences, but it has also developed a top flight administration to keep the competition moving smoothly.

The administration oversees one of Australia’s largest sporting competitions with more than 220,000 supporters passing through league venues each week. Advertisers have come to recognise how grass roots basketball delivers a key demographic of young families. As advertisers become increasingly aware of the link between young families and basketball, SEABL can look to develop new sponsorship arrangements with advertisers keen to reach this demographic.

The continued growth of SEABL shows reports of basketball’s demise have been exaggerated. With strong administration and a sound business model, basketball can succeed in Australia.

For further information please contact

Mark Chivers

General Manager

03 9521 9545

To all members and guests have a great Xmas from staf at SDBAL.

Have a great holiday break.

18th January 2009

SEABL Development League – A Pathway Created

SEABL Development League Director Ben Turner announced the formation of a new Development League for both men and women to commence in the 2009 Season. The SEABL Development League will be sponsored by Crazy John’s as part of their continued involvement with community based basketball programs.

Turner said “that following requests to the Board from Victorian SEABL member clubs, and working with Basketball Victoria and the Big V, the Crazy John’s D League has been formed. The Crazy John’s D League will enable those Clubs the opportunity to create a consistent pathway for players, coaches, administrators & officials. The Crazy John’s D League provides a straight line development pathway for Clubs from the VJBL to senior basketball while continue to hold a strong connection to community grass roots basketball The Crazy John’s D League will provide a high standard of competition while providing both fiscal and marketing benefits to member clubs.

Turner said “the Crazy John’s D League would be administered from the SEABL Office and will be run in conjunction with the Senior SEABL Men’s and Women’s Competitions with a view to allowing our future Boomers and Opals players the opportunity to gain experience training and playing with their Senior program.”

“Initially the Crazy John’s D League will consist of Victorian based clubs, but the Office will be working with our interstate members to assist them in developing their own youth development programs and it is envisaged that in future year these teams will participate in invitational tournaments throughout the season” Turner said.

Crazy John’s is excited to be involved as Naming Rights sponsor for both the “Crazy John’s SEABL Championship” and the “Crazy John’s D League.” Matt Scriven, Head of Marketing for Crazy John’s, said “Crazy John’s was keen to sponsor the sport at a grass-roots level as part of the business’ commitment to supporting the local communities in which it operates.”

The sponsorship arrangement between SEABL and Crazy John’s is also reflective of the shared values of both organisations, with both SEABL and Crazy John’s dedicated to delivering a superior product for their members and customers and a strong organisational culture for their staff.

For further Information
Mark Chivers – 0418 206 623

[Spartans]

Spartans & Emus Join to Support Fire & Flood Appeal


The Southern Districts Basketball Association has answered the SOS from their fellow Queenslanders up in the flood ravaged northern region and their friends in Country Victoria who have battled the latest fires and disaster by announcing a three game series between their very own South East Australian Basketball League team, the Brisbane Spartans and the Australian Emus (Under 19 men) in late February 2009.

In 2007 the Australian Emus finished 5th in the rankings and had the Spartans very own, Chris Goulding represent his country.

The 2009 Australian Emus, who will travel to New Zealand in July for the FIBA World Championships, will be comprised from the current crop of students at the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) dominated by Queenslanders.

The AIS squad currently includes Queenslanders from Townsville, Logan, Maroochydore, Cairns, Southern Districts and Brisbane all vying for a spot in the twelve man team who will take on powerhouse Nations such as the USA, China, Canada and Greece, and with so many Queenslanders, it was fitting to play the three game series in Brisbane.

The Australian Emus wanted the very best preparation possible and felt it was going to done best in Brisbane against the Spartans coached by National Basketball League and Australian Coach, Bruce Palmer. The games will be played on Friday 27th February, Saturday 28th February and Sunday 1st March at the Rowland Cowan Stadium at the Clem Jones Youth Centre in Carina with all proceeds being donated to the fire and flood appeals respectively.

“We wanted to do something for both our northern neighbours in Queensland and our Victorian countrymen, who are both suffering so much” offered Allan Ladewig, General Manager of the Spartans. “We knew we had the series planned so it was a given that the funds from the games should be passed on to those who need the support. The Association is proud to able to assist as we know so many others are”.

The entrance for the three games will be a donation with all funds going to both appeals. Corporate seating is available and those requiring additional information need to contact the Association direct on 3398 2790. All three games are expected to have full houses.

The series will give the Brisbane community and basketball lovers in general the opportunity to watch the very best young players in the Nation play. Due to the World Championships being played in July, the AIS SEABL team will not be coming to Brisbane for a regular season game which they do every year against the Brisbane Spartans.

“I would urge everyone to come down for two good reasons. One, to support the victims from the fire and floods, and secondly because this is really the only opportunity to see these young talented boys play right here in Brisbane this year,” Spartans head coach Bruce Palmer said.

The FIBA World Championships will gather the world’s top talent in New Zealand and this will include 12 of these superstar players in the making.

Many of today’s stars such as our very own Andrew Bogut, Linas Kleiza, Jose Berrea, Vince Carter and many others have made their international debuts in this competition. The talent at display will be incredible and the Brisbane basketball community can look forward to the most exciting players basketball has to offer.

ENDS
For further information please contact: sdbal@bigpond.net.au
www.sdspartans.basketball.net.au phone 3398 2790

SOUTHERN DISTRICTS FIRST IN QUEENSLAND .

GUNN 6000 SHOOTING MACHINE

The Southern Districts Basketball Association become the first Association in Queensland to unveil the latest in technology with the Gunn 6000 shooting machine this week. Importe from the USA the machine takes away the need for a rebounder for all shooting practices .

"The Gunn” is the best basketball shooting machine to date for dramatically improving all players shot. This basketball shooting machine will act as an automatic rebounder, instantly rebounding a made or missed shot and giving a direct return pass for another shot. The Gunn has a timing device so you can determine the distance and the speed of your return passes, thus creating situations where players can develop their shooting skills on the move and with game like intensity. The Gunn can fire up to 1800 shots per hour (every 2 seconds ) and has an optional computerized scoreboard that counts and displays, makes, total shots and shooting percentage.

Allan Ladewig, General Manager Southern Districts Basketball association offered “We are overwhelmed by the response the players have had to the machine although it has only been in the Association one week. "This is certainly the way of the future with seniors, juniors male and female players able to develop their shooting skills from all over the court simply by adjusting a few settings”.
“Who wouldn’t be happier ." Coach of the Spartans mens team, Bruce palmer, also added. “We have already introduced The Gunn to the SEABL men’s program encouraging the players to get down to the court and use. To be able to get between 300 to 500 shots up in half an hour this has to be an advantage at all levels of the sport”.

It is believed over 5000 teams world wide are now using the machine as part of there basketball programs including the Australian Institute of Sport here in Australia.
The members of the Association and public will be able to access the use of the machine from Easter, when Sunday sessions will be available for people to do the Spartans shooters program under the guidance of the SEABL player, Greg Vanderjagt, who is currently writing up programs for all different levels and standards.

ENDS www.sdspartans.basketball.net.au email sdbal@bigpond.net.au

"The Southern Districts Basketball Association would like to correct an error which appeared in previous press releases regarding an upcoming three game series of practice games. The series will feature the Brisbane Spartans (of the South East Australian Basketball League) and a team fromthe Australian Institute of Sport. The series will not involve the Australian Emus, which is the name given to the Australian U19 representative team. We apologise in error."

Brisbane Spartans will compete against the Austrlain Institute of Sport on February 27th, 28th and March 1st.


Allan Ladewig
General Manager
SDBAL

Goulding’s Back For 3-game Series Against AIS

The Arrow Caravans & Towbars Brisbane Spartans has received a boost with confirmation star guard Chris Goulding will return to Brisbane this weekend ahead of their three game series against the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) at Carina Basketball Stadium.

Goulding who was forced to make the move west to play for the Perth Wildcats after the demise of the Brisbane Bullets, initially signed a contract as a development player, a position was all too familiar with in Brisbane for the previous two seasons.

Early in the 2008/09 NBL season, Goulding didn’t see a lot of court time, however over the past few rounds Goulding was given the opportunity he was craving and didn’t let down.

With last week’s shock first round loss in the NBL playoffs to a hot Townsville Crocodiles team, his services in Perth is over for the season. While discussions for the coming seasons are underway, Goulding is allowed to return home and will play this weekend against the AIS.

“It’s fantastic news,” Spartans head coach Bruce Palmer said. “Chris is a local junior, he is explosive and very entertaining to watch. His availability to play this weekend will only add to the already impressive show-piece this will turn out to be,” he added.

The AIS was looking to sharpen themselves for the upcoming SEABL season but more importantly, prepare to the Under 19 World Championships to be held in July 2009 in New Zealand and with eight AIS athletes hailing from Queensland, it was appropriate to play the games in Brisbane.

Because the World Championships are being held this year, the AIS will not travel to Brisbane for a regular season SEABL game, so when the opportunity presented itself, the Spartans grabbed it with both hands.

Game one on Friday and game two on Saturday will both tip off at 7:30pm with Sunday’s game three tipping off at 2pm with all games being played at the Carina Basketball Stadium.

The series has been dubbed “The Fire & Flood Appeal Series” with all proceeds from all three games being donated directly to both funds respectively.

ENDS
For further information please contact: sdbal@bigpond.net.au
Website: www.sdspartans.basketball.net.au

Brisbane Spartans – Launched

Brisbane’s newest basketball teams, the Brisbane Spartans and the Brisbane Lady Spartans were officially launched in front of a packed house at the Carina Leagues Club last night.

Local and State politicians were in attendance to witness the historic launch and throw their support behind the name change and the Association in its new direction. Past Spartans greats were on hand also, including Olympian Trish Cochrem, Scott Lloyd and Paul Rasmussen.

“It’s a historic moment, so we wanted the people who made us what we are today to be there,” Spartans General manager Allan Ladewig said.

Naming right’s sponsors of both teams, Arrow Caravans & Towbars and the Carina Leagues Club, Chief Executives were both on hand to introduce the teams and present the players with their 2009 uniform. Scott Lloyd, who wore the #9 singlet, personally presented the 2009 #9 singlet to Ash Cannan a former NBL star who has joined the ranks for the coming season.

With the unfortunate demise of the Brisbane Bullets, the former Southern Districts Spartans felt it was appropriate to implement the name change to represent the entire city in “Australia’s Premier Winter Basketball League, the South East Australian Basketball league.

The SEABL is considered by many to be the very best level of weekly competition available behind the NBL with most teams boasting two American imports and top line NBL players and includes teams from South Australia, Victoria, Tasmania, Canberra and of course, Queensland.

Not only does the name change mean the Spartans will represent the entire city of Brisbane in a National competition, it also insures all the Southern and interstate teams know exactly where the Spartans and Lady Spartans come from.

The Brisbane Spartans will embark on a three-game series against the Australian Institute of Sport this weekend at the Carina Basketball Stadium with Friday and Saturday night’s games tipping off at 7:30pm and Sunday’s game tipping off at 2pm with all proceeds being donated to the Fire and Flood Appeals.

ENDS
For further information please contact: sdbal@bigpond.net.au
Website: www.sdspartans.basketball.net.au

Spartans SEABL Season Tickets
The Brisbane Spartans SEABL campaign kicks off in just over two weeks and there are still limited season ticket packages available to Brisbane's only national level Basketball team. Become a member today to be a part of the most exciting basketball action in Queensland this winter.

Ticket packages that are still available include:

Six seat corporate box - this package includes six seats in a sideline box to all Spartans home games this SEABL season, 6 Spartans supporter polo shirts, food and drink provided in box at every home game, company information and logo on the Spartans home page and company signage on the front of your corporate box.

Cost - $3500 includes 14 home games in 2009.

Four seat corporate box - this package includes four seats in a baseline box to all Spartans home games this SEABL season, 4 Spartans supporter polo shirts, food and drink provided in box at every home game, company information and logo on the Spartans home page and company signage on the front of your corporate box.

Cost - $2500 includes 14 home games in 2009.

VIP Member 2009 - These individual sideline seats provide the best view of the court for all Spartans home games, this package includes a Spartans supporters polo shirt and there are only limited VIP seats left for this coming season.

Cost - $130

General Admission season ticket - Be a part of the action at every Spartans home game by showing your support for our teams! Price includes one reserved seat for every home game in 2009.

Cost - $80 Adults, $50 Children

Normal single game ticket prices are $10 for adults and $5 for children. Get in now to reserve your tickets for the coming SEABL season and catch the best Basketball action that you will see in Queensland this winter! For more information contact the SDBAL office during business hours on (07) 3398 2790.