2 CONTENTS Executive Reports 4 Junior Domestic Report 8 Junior Programs Report 11 Senior Domestic Report 12 Junior Rangers Report 15 Referee Advisor’s Report 20 Senior Teams Report 22 Dandenong Jayco Rangers Report 25 Stadium Manager’s Report 26 Marketing & Branding Report 27 2018-19 Financial Statements 29 Notes To The Financial Statements 34 3 PRESIDENT’S REPORT To say that the Dandenong Basketball Association has Stephen’s involvement has had an immediate impact had a challenging year in 2018/19, would be an under- on the stability of DBA’s financial position and has re- statement. introduced some great programs and some fun new ideas. The WNBL team finished a creditable 5th in the National competition, but had an unapproved budget During 2018, both John Kelly and Brad Wright had in- overspend of significant size. dicated that they would not be continuing as Directors and have since stepped away from this role, as has Cuts in other parts of the DBA budget were identified Alison Power, who was unable continue to contribute by the CEO but brought few gains. to the role. On a number of fronts, the Board were provided inac- I thank Anne Arnott and Dan Kirtley for their continued curate or misleading information; and in the new year, support through the year, and welcome Lisa Gordon as a result of a deliberate contravention of a Board back to the Board. I particularly wanted to thank Dan directive to not engage in WNBL interviews, the Board Kirtley for his great contributions in the ongoing devel- had no alternative but to stand down and, following a opment of the Association’s financial processes, which detailed review, to then terminate the CEO. have continually improved under his guidance. With the departure of Graeme Allen, the Board has My portfolio has been Domestic basketball, and I am worked to transfer the WNBL team licence to Gerry happy to report that the Domestic Committee con- Ryan, who we believe will be able to take the team to tinues to make progress, being supported by several where it needs to go. larger and smaller Clubs. I wish to thank Dale Wood who, as Vice President, took The recent successful Grand Final day (although not on the CEO role in an interim capacity, and has worked part of the reporting period) demonstrated how well tirelessly to complete this change of ownership. we can work together to create a wonderful experi- ence for DBA participants. That’s what good teams do. Additionally, Dale has made some great improvements around the Stadium, with the relocation of Domestic I thank the staff of DBA for their dedication, patience Club uniform displays into the foyer, as a prominent and unwavering support during this difficult time. example. To our members - Life, Associate and Club – I also During this period, Dale, Dan Kirtley and I spent long thank you for your quiet, but steady, support and I hours at the stadium providing leadership to the staff, truly believe that we on the Board have delivered the until we were able to appoint a new CEO. best possible outcome, given our starting point and what we had to work through. On this note, I formally welcome Stephen Walter who, at the start of May, took on the CEO role. The Board The Association is now well placed to make some researched the possible candidates to take on this impressive moves forward, returning to our previous challenging role and found in Stephen a person whose highs and beyond. financial competence was outstanding, with a proven track record in turning around “not for profit” sports Dennis Wilkinson organisations. DBA President 4 VICE PRESIDENT’S REPORT To our members, I acknowledge that the performance To the tireless efforts of our domestic clubs, we offer of key individuals within our association has returned our gratitude for all that you do. a disappointing financial year loss of $409k. To our Life Members and our staff, can I request that The purpose of the Association has been undermined. you remain supportive of the purpose of our won- Those responsible have been removed. derful Association whilst we reset and return to our former status of one of the most revered Associations Those that were perhaps blindsided by manipulation, within Australian basketball. self interest and trust, and that remain, are working tirelessly to recover and reset our Association to re- We do need to acknowledge the City of Greater turn to the former integrity that we once held. Dandenong and Basketball Victoria for their counsel. We also thank those Life Members, past players and The appointment of Mr. Stephen Walter to the CEO coaches who have assisted throughout this difficult position has stabilised our financial situation moving period. forward due to Stephen’s well credentialed qualifica- tions and his contribution to a similar situation at Knox WE ARE DANDENONG Basketball in recent years. Dale Wood Sadly, our proud history as the only Association to DBA Vice President have a WNBL team in the premier women’s basketball competition in this country has come to an end. History will record that we were proud to field WNBL team from 1992 until 2019 and were proud champions on three occasions. We also appeared in six WNBL grand finals. We must acknowledge the wonderful contribution of the Jayco Corporation and in particular Gerry and Val Ryan for their unwavering support of both the WNBL team and the Dandenong Basketball Association. The second half of this financial period witnessed the move from SEABL to NBL competition, underpinned by Basketball Victoria, for our flagship female and male representative teams. The NBL1 competiton provides a wonderful pathway for our Junior Rangers and our domestic Junior partici- pants to aspire to. To the players, coaches and staff of our WNBL, NBL1, Youth League & Junior Rangers teams we applaud the way in which you have represented our association. 5 CEO’S REPORT SECRETARY’S REPORT A most challenging few years has culminated in a dis- I came onto the board in August 2018 replacing a appointing 2019 financial result. board member that had vacated their seat. I took on the position of Secretary and Minute taker mid-year Important changes are required to rebuild our brand when this position also became vacant. and our financial strength. The 2018-19 period has been a challenging time for The Licence transfer of the WNBL team has most defi- the DBA Board, in saying that I believe we have taken nitely eased some financial pressures however, it is the right course of action. going to take some time to restore our balance sheet and shore up our cash position. Our financial situation has improved significantly dur- ing this year with some major and minor changes of Looking forward, there will be added focus on our structure. junior clubs and competitions to ensure we get back to our priorities. We plan to better engage with our com- There have been some movements of positions on the munity and will work hard to establish strong ties back Board and we have all worked very hard to try and get with the schools in our region. Dandenong Stadium back on track and heading in a direction of completing desired goals that have been Only being in the role for a short period, it pleases set for major improvement. me to say that our club committees, volunteers and parents continue to deliver unqualified support in I am confident the Board is heading in the correct our quest to provide wonderful opportunities for our direction for future changes that will only enhance young athletes. everyone’s involvement with the Association. Our volunteers are our gateway to success. To all of We have a very hard-working enthusiastic group of our volunteers, thank you for your continued support members who only have the best intentions for mak- and dedication. ing a club of this size become better financially stable which means that all Dandenong Basketball members The Board should be acknowledged for making some will benefit. tough decisions early in 2019 with a focus on resetting our business and basketball imperatives. Anne Arnott DBA Secretary It is a privilege to represent Dandenong Basketball As- sociation and we are only a few short steps away from returning to full strength. Stephen Walter Chief Executive Officer 6 SECRETARY’S REPORT TREASURER’S REPORT Our financial performance for 2018/19 is not accept- As a result, the CEO was stood down in March and able. subsequently terminated in April 2019 after a review of a range of matters. The Board approached the 2018/19 year with strong financial plans and the budgeted expectation of a sur- The March full-year forecast was now predicting a plus (profit) of approximately $227k. Unfortunately by Loss/Deficit of 145k for the year. Over the course of September 2018 our YTD financial performance was the next few months, a significant review of financial indicating a vastly different story. DBA’s 2018/19 deficit matters was undertaken including the appointment of (loss) of $409k represents a $637k decline from the Dale Wood as interim CEO and the subsequent ap- originally planned surplus (profit) of $227k pointment of a new CEO, Stephen Walter. As a result of the 2017/18 WNBL season cost out- The ensuing months have seen an overarching review come, the Board had debated at length whether or of our operations with a clear focus on cost savings not to continue with the WNBL franchise. The Board and operational improvements. This work has uncov- produces an end of year forecast at the conclusion of ered numerous opportunities including a clean-up of each month’s financial actuals, and it was highlighted various financial matters.