The Hawks will not enter the National Basketball League this season. Photo / Paul Taylor
The Hawks will not enter the National Basketball League this season. Photo / Paul Taylor
Hawke's Bay basketball fans will not have a franchise to cheer on for the 2020 season.
Professional sport is allowed during alert level 2, but despite the Government's updated guidelines, the Hawke's Bay Taylor Hawks has announced the team will not enter the National Basketball League this season.
Hawks franchiseboard chairman Keith Price said community connection and player welfare were the two overriding factors behind the decision not to lace up at Pettigrew Green Arena.
"While we commend the NBL for all of the work they have put into this, and we are definitely supportive of the intent behind the competition, as of the entry deadline this week, there were still too many unknown factors for us," he said.
"The success of the Taylor Hawks is based on the support of our community; our sponsors, our funders, our players and our fans. This had to be in the forefront of our minds through the decision making process."
"But at the end of the day, we had to do what is best for our community, our players and our franchise."
Hawks basketball franchise general manager Amy Price said the team would need to rely heavily on the draft system if they were to compete. Photo / Warren Buckland
Hawks basketball franchise general manager Amy Price said the team would have needed to rely heavily on the draft system, risking only having a couple of their current team members in the ten player squad.
"Unfortunately, the draft system and the tight timelines meant that our ability to build a team with a strong connection to our community was going to be very difficult," she said.
"Many of our extended squad in Hawke's Bay work or go to school. After the lockdown period, it was almost impossible for them to take the time out for the competition.
"This meant that we would have to rely on the draft system, which gave us very little control over our team. In the end, we were unable to build the team in a way that we could show a direct benefit to the Taylor Hawks community."
The Hawks were now focused on the 2021 campaign, she said.
The sport and recreation sector will also receive a multi-million dollar boost as part of a Covid-19 response outlined in the budget last week.
The sector contributes about $5bn a year to New Zealand's GDP and employs more than 53,000 people, according to Finance Minister Grant Robertson.
Over the next four years, the government will invest $83m in short-term support, $104m to help the sector rebuild in the medium term and $78m for innovative approaches sport into the future.
Robertson said the financial support will help sports at all levels "remain viable, get stronger and adapt."
"Covid-19 has seen much of the sector's funding dry up and put sports, particularly at a community level, under immense strain," he said.
"We have also seen many of our professional sports and athletes struggle as competitions have been cancelled or suspended. Budget 2020 will provide some assistance, so they can keep competing."
Robertson also said Sport NZ and High Performance Sport NZ will work closely with national sport and recreation organisations, as well as the professional teams and clubs, to ensure the funding is allocated fairly and appropriately across the system.
