Inform issue 22 – Autumn 2017

DIamond Valley Basketball Association
40 years
of ballin’
In 2016, Diamond Valley Basketball
Association (DVBA) celebrated its
40th anniversary. It dates back to
humble beginnings in 1976, where a
two-court facility was built on Civic
Drive in Greensborough to allow locals
to take part in organised basketball.
Up until 1998, the Diamond Valley Basketball
Association used to manage the stadium and
the Diamond Valley Sports and Fitness Centre.
We were very passionate about servicing the
community with a range of programs and aimed
to give everyone a sense of belonging. It’s a ‘home
away from home’, inclusive of all – competitions
and programs for able-bodied, intellectually
disabled and wheelchair-bound athletes.
The growth of basketball locally, within the past
40 years, has been exponential. The Association
today has five regulation-sized courts with over
5,500 playing member. It caters to male and
female athletes of all levels, both senior and junior,
offering competitions and programs so they
are able to participate in the sport they love.
Though the Association has taken big steps forward
in its 40-year journey, one thing has fallen behind –
the accessibility of the centre. Currently the facility
has hidden, very limited and impractical disability
and pram access. There is one single wheelchair
lift to access the courts, and unfortunately all of
the bathroom and kiosk facilities are on the higher
levels, making utilising all amenities a tiresome
process for some of the centre’s patrons.
DVBA CEO Ross Wignell has been a big player
in pushing our 40th anniversary wish – a ‘master
plan’ redevelopment of the facility, meeting with
Council and stakeholders in order to turn the
idea into a reality. The master plan blueprint
is to expand the facility to 11 courts and to
solve the accessibility problem once and for
all – allowing players and spectators front door
ease and practicality of use, and provide the
opportunity to explore reintroducing programs
such as Wheelchair Basketball in future.
“Despite our Association coming along in
leaps and bounds in recent years, as it stands
currently we are limited in what programs
we are able to offer, or bring on, to service all
members of our local community. It’s important
to me to improve this as part of our master
plan, because of the many benefits it will
provide moving forward,” Ross explains.
In research conducted on the Association’s history,
it became evident through photos and personal
accounts that the DVBA once offered Wheelchair
Basketball, and even hosted Wheelchair Basketball
National Championships tournaments in the 1980s.
We hope that our 40th anniversary wish can soon
reach the approval and funding it requires to
become a reality and, moving forward, we can offer
a truly inclusive service to our local community.
Autumn 2017
35