Riddells Creek Junior Mixed Basketball Association (RCJMBA) has claimed the top spot as the inclusive basketball association of the year at the state awards ceremony on May 16.
The award seeks to recognise an association’s contribution towards diverse and inclusive programs for participants with a disability, and was awarded to RCJMBA for its all abilities team.
RCJMBA president Debra Taylor said the club prides itself on being inclusive, and will take anyone of any skill level, male and female.
“We’re proud,” Ms Taylor said, “we’re a little association compared to everyone else so to get recognised by Basketball Victoria is a big deal to us.
“[Our] all abilities [program] started up last year, we ran an eight week trial to make sure we could do it… and now it’s a running program we do every Thursday.
“We’re going to keep [the program] small for the rest of the year and if we feel confident we will take on more players [in the future].”
Ms Taylor said RCJMBA is proud to be able to offer the program to the players completely free of charge.
“The [council] provided free court hire for the first few weeks, Basketball Victoria covered the insurance costs and then through community donations we could cover uniforms and equipment needed,” she said.
“To run it at no cost to the players is a massive bonus to us.
“Especially in Riddells Creek, we’re a small community, it’s not just about the basketball… it’s more about the community.”
Zoe Moffatt
