Basketball Australia Key Facts Updated 5 February 2012
General
Basketball is the number two sport globally with 213 countries participating in basketball internationally and with over 450 million players regularly playing the game. A global study conducted by Roper Starch Worldwide based on 35,000 interviews, showed that 11% of the world plays basketball. The most recent Sweeney Sports research in Australia shows that one in three Australians have an interest in basketball. Basketball is played by approximately one million men and women, boys and girls throughout Australia. Throughout Australia’s States and Territories, there are: o 426 local associations; o 20,000 clubs; and o 60,000 teams.
Participation
Basketball is played by approximately one million men and women, boys and girls throughout Australia: o 1,015,000 grassroots participants; o 625,000 participants 15 years and over; and o 390,000 participants under 15 years. Basketball is the 2nd highest team participation sport in Australia. 9% of Australians aged between 5 and 75 years currently play basketball. 42% of participants play basketball weekly. 25% of Australians have participated in basketball during their life. 5% of Australians provide volunteer support to basketball. 27% of Australians consider themselves fans of basketball – while 8% consider themselves ‘fanatics’. 42,000 primary aged children participate in the Federal Government’s Active After Schools basketball program – the 3rd highest participated sports program.
Children’s Participation
The latest sports participation data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics – released in October 2012 – shows basketball has defied the national trend and continued to grow its already strong participation base among children. The Children’s Participation in Cultural and Leisure Activities survey collected information on participation in sport, cultural activities and use of technology for children aged between 5 and 14. Overall, the study found that 42,000 fewer Australian children are playing organised sport than three years ago. However, basketball participation for 5 – 14 year olds jumped from 201,900 in 2009 to 220,200 in 2012 – that’s an increase of 7.9%, or 18,000 participants. Since the 2006 version of the ABS study, basketball participation among children has grown by almost 44,000 children – that’s 25% in six years.
That growth is even more remarkable when you consider that the same ABS study found nearly all other major participation sports – including cricket, swimming, netball, tennis and Australian Rules Football – suffered a decline in participation levels within the same timeframe. Basketball has always been one of Australia’s strongest participation sports – and the latest ABS data cements that. These numbers are a ringing endorsement of the strength and effectiveness of Basketball Australia’s grassroots, children’s participation programs – such as Aussie Hoops and No School, No Play. This is further proof that the Federal Government should put increased funding behind our proven participation programs – so that we can encourage even more children to lead active and healthy lifestyles.
National Basketball League
This season, the NBL has once again been broadcast on Network Ten with two games a week on free-to-air television – a live game on Ten every Sunday afternoon and also a regular broadcast timeslot at 9:30PM every Friday night on One. In the 2011/12 season, a total of 579,839 people attended iiNet NBL Championship games. Over the past three seasons, the NBL has seen its average regular season crowd increase each year – with a total growth of 20% in crowds across the league since the 2009/10 season. Crowds at NBL regular season matches for the 2011/12 season rose by 3% during that year. All three games of the 2012 NBL Grand Final series between the New Zealand Breakers and Perth Wildcats were total sell-outs, while 54,696 people flocked to see the nine NBL Finals games at an average of over 6,000 people at each game. o That is more than double the total number of fans that attended the 2011 NBL Finals series, when 26,066 people tasted the post-season action. In the current 2012/13 NBL Championship Season, attendances are up by 21%. Already this season we’ve seen substantial growth in TV viewership as a result of our improved deal with Network Ten: o Friday night viewership is up 49% on last season’s average; and o Sunday viewership is up 73% on last season’s average. The NBL’s digital network also continues to thrive, with traffic to nbl.com.au up by 66% in comparison to last season. NBL official merchandise is sold in 120 retail outlets across Australia and 110 outlets across New Zealand.
NBL.TV
Fans that can’t physically make it down to a game to cheer on their NBL team can still see it live this season with Basketball Australia’s landmark digital deal – giving NBL fans unprecedented coverage of the 2012/13 competition. Basketball is the first sport in Australia to give fans such comprehensive digital access to live sports content on-the-go: o Every NBL game is broadcast live via an NBL.TV subscription service for mobile, tablets, PCs and IPTV; o Fans can view television matches simulcast, plus all other NBL matches live anywhere and on any platform using a single login to NBL.TV; o Games and highlights are available on demand, giving fans the freedom to choose how and when they watch the NBL;
o Our partner for NBL.TV, PERFORM Media, is producing five-camera live broadcasts of all NBL games not being shown by the league’s free-to-air television partner Network Ten and New Zealand broadcast partner; and o The deal also includes production and distribution of national team games hosted in Australia – meaning fans can for the first time digitally access any home games played by the Boomers and Opals, subject to television broadcast arrangements. A full season pass with full access to all NBL.TV features is $79, and a monthly pass is also available for $19. New packages have just been launched, including: o “A road to the Finals” package for the special price of $39; and o A 48 hour weekend pass for $9.
Women’s National Basketball League
More than 81,000 fans attended WNBL games throughout the 2011/12 season, culminating in the sell-out crowd of 3500 at the WNBL Grand Final between Dandenong and Bulleen. The WNBL recorded significant improvement in regular season attendance, experiencing a 10.7 per cent rise in attendances last season to more than 4,000 spectators per round. So far during the 2012/13 WNBL season, attendances are up 30% on last season. Following the success of the Jayco Australian Opals at the 2012 London Olympics – no less than seven players from the Bronze Medal-winning squad have been playing in the WNBL, a glowing endorsement of the standing in which the league is held. o O’Hea, Screen, Batkovic, MacLeod, Harrower, Hodges, Jarry. The WNBL is one of the world’s best national leagues – and it is considered one of the best national women’s sporting competition in this country. That’s why our 2012/13 brand campaign for the WNBL makes a bold statement that its time for the WNBL to “Step into the Spotlight” – it’s time for our home grown stars to “shine” and “light” up the court this coming season. With an improved timeslot of ABC TV, the WNBL this year is available on free to air to more viewers. It is also broadcast on the ABC Grandstand website and available on ABC iView. o That improved broadcast platform has realised 24% growth YTD. And with strong links to basketball’s 1 million strong grassroots participation base, we expect sustained long term sustained growth and continued success.
National Teams
Australia is currently ranked as the 4th best basketball nation in the world out of 213 nations with international Basketball Federations. This is an improvement on the 2011 5th place ranking and reflects our success at all 2012 FIBA & FIBA Zones Championships. The Women’s National Basketball Team – the Opals – is ranked second in the world by FIBA. The Men’s National Basketball Team – the Boomers – is ranked tenth in the world by FIBA. The Women’s National Wheelchair Basketball Team – the Gliders – is ranked second in the world by the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation (IWBF). The Men’s National Wheelchair Basketball Team – the Rollers – is ranked second in the world by the IWBF. The Men’s Under 17 team won Silver at the 2012 World Championships, while the Women’s Under 17 team finished 5th.
No School No Play
• Between 2010 and 2012, there were 5 different NSNP programs running in Australia – 3 of those funded by the Federal Government’s Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations. o Basketball Australia expanded the program to a further 2 locations – and these programs ran on community support. • There were more than 30 schools involved across Australia – including 750 students from years 7 to 10. • Approximately 300 of those students were Indigenous – roughly 40%. • In 2011: o 80% of students improved their engagement at school. o 90% improved their number of days attended at school. o On average, schools in the 2011 Coffs Harbour program improved their attendance by at least 25% per term. o One school in particular in Coffs Harbour went from an average of 50% attendance in term 1 to 91% in term 2. o The overall increase for 2011 Coffs Harbour program was 60%. • In 2012: o Overall, 70% of students involved improved their attendance and engagement. o Tasmanian students started the program with more than 410 hours absent from school – by the end of the program, that dropped to only 160 hours. o 98% of South Australian students reached more than 70% attendance. o In the Western Sydney program, all schools are above 60% attendance compared to 40-45% before the program.
Active After School Communities Program
• The Australian Government's Active After-School Communities (AASC) program is a national initiative providing primary school children with access to free sport and other structured physical activity programs in the after-school time slot of 3.00pm to 5.30pm. • In 2011 there were: o More than 42,000 children who participated in basketball; o More than 1,585 schools participated in the program; o More than 30% of these programs were delivered by national, state, and regional Basketball association’s & clubs; and o More than 1,250 community coaches delivered basketball programs.
Social Media During the Olympics
According to research conducted by Burson Marsteller during the 2012 London Olympic Games between 27 July 2012 and 13 August 2012:
There were more than 500,000 conversations on the Olympics over the games period. o 56% of participants were male. o 44% of participants were female. 1 in 4 conversations originated in Sydney. 4 in 5 conversations took place on Twitter.
The most discussed Aussie athletes were: 1. Sally Pearson 2. Lauren Jackson 3. James Magnussen The most discussed sports were: 1. Swimming – 30% 2. Basketball – 16% 3. Rowing – 12.5%