Basketball club Shepparton Demons is experiencing an unprecedented surge in growth, but the city’s facilities are holding the club and the rest of the local basketball community back.
Renae Wayman has been a player in Shepparton for more than 10 years and is a coach and president of the Shepparton Demons, as well as a referee.
According to her, the club has witnessed a remarkable expansion during the current season.
“Growth-wise, Demons have blown it out of the water,” Wayman said.
“We’ve achieved the highest registered numbers on record, mostly coming from our junior age groups.”
A diverse mix of enthusiastic youngsters from affiliated schools, including Kialla West, Kialla Central, St Anne’s and Guthrie St Primary School, has fuelled this surge.
For the autumn 2023 season, the Demons boasted 165 registered players.
Fast forward to the current spring season, and that number has skyrocketed to 216, a clear indication of the club’s popularity and the community’s increasing interest in basketball.
“If we compare apples with apples, in the spring 2022 season, we had 179 players registered,” Wayman said.
“This growth is truly phenomenal.”
Wayman expressed pride in the club’s ability to field teams in almost every age group and division.
“We are extremely proud to have been able to field an under-16 girls division two side this season for the first time in many years,” she said.
“This was one of my goals as a female in basketball when I took on the president role.”
While the Demons celebrate their success, it’s a double-edged sword.
Wayman said she had been forced to tell children that the club had reached its capacity, leading them to seek opportunities at other clubs or wait until the next season to participate.
Training, a crucial aspect of player development, is currently hosted at the stadium of Guthrie St Primary School, a key sponsor for the club.
Wayman said the club was almost outgrowing the current space and may need to group teams together for training.
She said the Demons were lucky to have a dedicated training space, as other local clubs didn’t.
“The venue (Shepparton Sports Stadium) just doesn’t have the capacity for growth,” she said.
“It’s bursting at the seams and can’t cater to everyone who uses it.”
It’s not just a lack of courts.
Wayman said the actual facilities weren’t up to scratch and pointed out issues with leaks and scoreboards.
“Tuesday night a few weeks back, we attended the stadium after a rainy afternoon at 6pm for a 6.15pm game only to be told at 6:10pm the game is called off due to safety,“ she said.
“We’ve got two courts without fully functioning scoreboards.
“Court three hasn’t had a scoreboard for 10 weeks or so, and now doesn’t have a manual siren because court four’s wasn’t working.
“People are yelling out from the sidelines that a game has finished, but it’s hard to hear as a ref when you’re focused on the game.”
Recently, Wayman had to referee a game at the Visy stadium at 6pm, right after she finished work, and then move over to the Shepparton Sports Stadium to referee several games for the rest of the night.
By the time she had moved over, the canteen had closed, so she couldn’t get food the whole night.
Wayman raised these issues with the Greater Shepparton City Council, which kept her in the loop with repairs and progress.
However, Wayman said these repairs were only “band-aids to a very serious problem”.
“Overall, it’s a very underwhelming facility unable to keep up with the growth,” she said.
“We need more courts, and we need a better venue.
“For us, it’s all about getting the kids out there on the court, playing a team sport with other kids instead of being at home and on their iPads.
“The fact that we have to tell kids we don’t have room for them is really disappointing.”
Show your support for our campaign by signing our petition www.change.org/p/upgrade-the-shepparton-sports-stadium
Stand For Our Stadium: The story so far
Or reach out to us and have your say:
Contact details
News journalist Jay Bryce
5820 3195
@jaybrycenews on Instagram
Or The News desk at:
5831 2312