Top of the North brings junior basketball to Douglas



Top of the North brings junior basketball to Douglas

Tuesday November 18 2014, 4:45pm

GAME ON: The bounce-off between Port Douglas (dark uniforms) and Mareeba (green uniforms) at the Port Douglas Cyclone Shelter (photo by Rick Stoker)

By Rick Stoker

The Cyclone Shelter was built with dual purposes in mind: Adjoining the grounds of the Primary School, it doubles as an excellent recreational centre.

Twenty months ago, as shelter opened it became the home of the Port Douglas Basketball Club.

A goal of the club’s executive committee was realized when on Saturday 15th, they conducted the first annual TON tournament.

This brought four communities together: Atherton, Mareeba, Mulgrave and Port Douglas, for day-long basketball games. 

The new electronic scoreboard at the Cyclone Shelter, sponsored by the Newsport and Bendigo Bank (photo by Rick Stoker)

Over 30 teams, 200 children plus their parents arrived and the shelter, with its onsite shop, adequately handled the numbers.

The tournament was opened by Mayor Julia Leu who, on behalf of the council donated $500 for the day’s prizes.

The council also donated $3,000 towards the cost of the new electronic scoreboard; the additional $3,000 cost was jointly picked-up by Newsport Publishing and the Bendigo Bank, in a 3 year sponsorship deal.

Practice time at the shelter for 4-10years old is normally Saturday mornings, and for both boys ad girls aged 11-14, practice takes place on Wednesdays from 4-6pm, whereafter the seniors take over the courts.

If the success of this tournament is of any gauge, the four TON communities will be meeting a lot more regularly than annually, for friendly sports competitions.