About us.....

Isle of Wight Basketball Club is a community-based organisation. We have mainly been based at Cowes over the past 25 years, using the facilities at Cowes Enterprise College and Cowes High School before that.

Many of us have benefitted from playing basketball whether for fun, to keep active or for the passion to play at a higher level. Some young islanders have been lucky enough to play in junior national league programmes and go on to play in senior sides, play at colleges and university teams. Some have even fortunate enough to go to play College Basketball in America, as well as representing the Island team at either local or International level (Island games)

Why this project

With help from Basketball England and their Project Swish programme we've decided to undertake this project.

#ProjectSwish - Basketball England https://projectswish.co.uk 

The Covid pandemic has severely restricted the opportunities to play many sports, both outdoors and especially indoor-based sports. Our club was unable to train for over 15 months when restrictions were finally lifted and we were allowed to play again. This hiatus has highlighted the need for outdoor space and playing facilities. Currently there is only one basketball court with community access on the Isle of Wight. There are other courts within school grounds that are closed off for public use. Indoor courts run as part of leisure centres are at a premium due to the lack of accessibility at schools and therefore demand is high for all indoor-based sports.

Currently there are over 350 members with the potential for many more. This includes approximately 50-60 children who actively participate in our coaching sessions, and there is a base of 50 adults who participate in our adults scrimmages. There are more males than females and we hope this project will help to strengthen these numbers and increase the percentage of female participants.

How the project will be united by ‘United by Birmingham 2022’

With the Commonwealth Games approaching at the end of July, the surge in interest and popularity of 3 x 3 Basketball will engage people of all ages, especially the young. We are trying to provide the community with the facilities to aid that interest.

The multisport area (MUGA) at Freshwater is in a dilapidated state and in need of regeneration. We have the permission of Freshwater Parish Council to bring the area up to a new and improved standard for community use.

 The area requires a new floor, new line markings, with new backboards hoops and nets. Additional repairs to the surrounding boarding that are also needed could give the opportunity for local companies to utilise them for advertisements..

Aims 

1)  To a raise a target of £10,000 towards the cost of improvements.

2)  Improve and repair existing conditions, improve court surface, replace backboards, hoops with more modern sustainable materials.

3)  To improve the court area and make it more accessible for local community sports groups of all ages.

4)  To revive a competitive Basketball League on the Island; improve overall participation with a view of extending the project to other courts on the Island.

5)  Involve the whole community, create links for example with the new primary school being constructed in Freshwater, as well as the sports hub at West Wight Community Sports Centre, the Skate Park and the playing fields nearby.