Hawke’s Bay’s biggest indoor sporting league for primary schoolers is bouncing along nicely thanks to an injection of new sporting equipment.

Every term, more than 2000 primary school-aged children compete in Basketball Hawke’s Bay’s ‘Breakers Miniball League’ every week at venues in Napier, Taradale and Hastings.

Played at Centennial Events Centre in Napier, Pettigrew Green Arena in Taradale and the Hastings Sports Centre, term 1 of the 2020 Miniball League tipped off this week (Monday, Feb 17) with brand-new gameday balls provided by returning major sponsor, Breakers Restaurants.

Basketball HB general manager Chris McIvor said the new basketballs came courtesy of a renewed sponsorship arrangement with the Hawke’s Bay-founded chain of family restaurants.

“Purchasing new playing equipment is a major expense for any sporting organisation, so to receive hundreds of these quality Spalding-made basketballs from Breakers Restaurants is a real bonus. It helps with our costs and reduces pressure on fees for our Miniball players and their families, and means we can focus our resources on other areas,” McIvor said.

Breakers has provided more than 200 of the size 6 Spalding basketballs, which will be used as official gameday balls in the league’s junior divisions for the next two years, while Basketball Hawke’s Bay also plans to use the balls to deliver programmes in schools.

As part of their sponsorship, Breakers already supplies every team with weekly ‘MVP’ vouchers for free kids’ meals at their Napier, Taradale and Hastings restaurants, as well as certificates for the champions and runners-up in each of the league’s 36 divisions, every term.

Breakers Restaurants Ltd CEO Stefan Burt said the new basketballs were a more practical way of supporting the league and players, while also helping to alleviate some of Basketball Hawke’s Bay costs.

“We originally investigated other ideas, like supplying basketball singlets and playing uniforms, but felt the basketballs would get the most use and were the best way to spend the sponsorship money,” he said.

Photo caption: From left: Basketball HB general manager Chris McIvor, Breakers Miniball players Amelia Wilkins (Greenmeadows Primary) and Riley Turner (Taradale Primary), and Breakers Taradale owner/franchisee Willem Vermuelen with the new gameday basketballs.

Article added: Thursday 20 February 2020