Basketball: Olympic fallout slows Tall Ferns

By JULIE ASH

In the wake of last year's Olympic Games, New Zealand women's basketball is struggling to cope as it suffers from a loss of key players and limited finances.

These problems, and the weakened state of the premier women's competition, means the talent pool from which the Tall Ferns are drawn has shrunk.

The once-popular national league is made up of just seven teams this year, one of the worst turnouts in its nine-season history.

There has been no Auckland team in the league for the past three years, and former champions, Waikato, have bypassed this year's competition because of a lack of players, coaches and money.

The league, which started last month, runs for only four weekends and teams often play two games in one day.

Nelson, Otago, Canterbury and newcomers West Coast are battling it out in the south and North Harbour, Manawatu and Wellington are competing in the north.

The top two teams from each region will play off at the national championships in Palmerston North in August.

North Harbour manager Christine Deuxberry, who played in the league in the mid-1990s, said there were many reasons for the fall in team numbers.

"I know the Olympics had a big impact. A lot of the mature women's players aimed for the Olympics and have retired now that they are over.

"I don't know if it is player burnout or what, but their retirements have left gaps, which some teams have been unable to fill."

She said it was almost impossible to find sponsorship for a women's basketball team.

"We are not asking for a lot of money, we are only travelling around the North Island," Deuxberry said.

Also concerned about the sorry state of the league is new national Tall Ferns coach Tracy Carpenter.

Only a handful of players remain from the team who finished 11th in Sydney and he will be looking to the league for replacements, because of the "big cleanout" of players.

Julie Ofsoski, Megan Compain, Dianne L'Ami and Leonie Patterson are overseas and Gina Farmer leaves later this year.

Kirstin Daly has retired, Leanne Walker is unavailable and Donna Loffhagen and Belinda Colling are tied up with the Silver Ferns.

"For the Tall Ferns to reach their full potential we need a healthy domestic competition, which we don't have right now," Carpenter said.

"It's disappointing and is not something that can be fixed overnight."

The national team will play a series against Australia in September and also hope for a series against either Norway, Yugoslavia or China this year.

Carpenter, who also coaches North Harbour in the men's national league, says basketball is still strong in the junior grades.

"Structures have been put in for national junior teams, which is great and a step in the right direction."

The women's league has had no sponsor for the past four years, but New Zealand Basketball hope to announce one for this year's competition in the next few weeks.

The national body is organising a series of nationwide seminars to look at what can be done to get the women's game back on track.

New Zealand Basketball's Bill Eldred, who administers the women's league, said an option was a franchise competition similar to netball's Coca Cola Cup.

"We are seriously looking at that. With the number of teams we have at the moment it sits well."

Carpenter is also in favour of a franchise competition.

"I would like to see Basketball New Zealand put together a structure that is financially viable, even if there are just six or seven solid franchises to start off with.

"It will mean the players involved will get to compete against the best players in the country and it will give up-and-coming players something to aspire to."