Greater Shepparton Basketball Association has made the decision to suspend all of its competitions for the foreseeable future, as it awaits council assessment of the damage to its four playing facilities.
Announcing its decision via social media on Monday morning, the association said basketball of any kind could not be played at a GSBA-managed facility until it was deemed safe to do so by council.
Of the four basketball precincts in Greater Shepparton, only the Mooroopna Stadium was inundated by flood water, while Shepparton Sports Stadium and Visy Stadium had a significant amount of water seep in under their structures.
Tatura Community Activity Centre did not suffer any flood damage but remains closed along with the three other GSBA-managed facilities.
GSBA administrator Tony Long said it was now a “waiting game” as council went about assessing the flood damage.
“We are just waiting on council to do their assessment of our facilities before we are allowed to welcome anyone back on to the courts,” Long said.
“They are obviously quite heavily involved with flood recovery and emergency assistance, so at the moment they are tied up doing that.
“For us to be able to go ahead, we’d need an examination of our floor to ensure it’s safe, even though there is no direct damage to the stadium and its stadium they need to make sure everything is ticked off underground.”
The GSBA manages a large number of competitions across the region, ranging from juniors to week-night social basketball.
It is a major blow to the association with its spring seasons now in full swing, and Long said it was hopeful basketball could return within the next fortnight.
“For the time being, this week is definitely out of action and possibly next week as well,” he said.
“It is disappointing for the kids obviously (to have no basketball), especially after COVID-19 it has just been one thing after another.
“Basketball is a great way for our community to come together and stay active, so we are really hoping that in a couple of weeks everything will be ticked off and we can get back to playing.”