It’s been a long, hard slog, but we finally made it…

From this time last year when I was considering entering a team in to the Sussex League because I was frustrated at the lack of opportunities for ladies to participate in the sport to having the entry into the league confirmed, it’s been one hell of a ride !

Copious amounts of documents have been produced to make the Sussex Raptors Basketball Club official (both in terms of a legal entity with a financial foundation and also affiliated to Basketball England) and countless hours spent in communication with potential patrons and playing venues.  The playing venue quandary has been of particular frustration – most potential venue either didn’t have availability or they are way too expensive; it’s REALLY difficult, as a new Club, to break through the monopoly that existing clubs have, and I have an important appointment at a quality venue in a couple of weeks to plead our case for partnering with them on being our home court.

So, I’m one step away from realising the dream and being able to provide opportunities to both senior men and ladies to play this great sport !

This time last year seems a distant memory now.  So much has (had to) happen in the last 12 months to get the Club off the ground.  I made promise to an amazing band of young ladies last year that I’d provide them with the opportunity to stay together as a team and be able to play basketball on a regular basis, with the backing of a passionate framework of support behind them.

The last few hurdles have been overcome and it’s been quite an emotional few weeks as we ticked the most difficult box and have agreed a partnership with Lancing College as our home venue for the foreseeable future.  Their understanding, vision and support of the Club is most welcomed and we look forward to a very rewarding relationship with them over the next few years.

We’ve now got a venue (and, let’s be honest, probably the most amazing venue in Sussex !) so we’re now on the hunt to build the team.  A lot of the players I promised the dream to last year are signing up and we’ve already had interest from some new faces so we’re excited about what the next few months has in store for us.