By CHARLENE MACAULAY
THE Westgate Basketball Association is proof you can be a girly girl and still shoot hoops.
The group, which has more than 400 kids playing across nearly 60 teams every Saturday out of Whitten Oval Stadium, has recently introduced a Pinkball team to its ranks.
Pinkball caters to girls aged between five and 12 years, and is a more feminine take on the sport, with female coaches and helpers, a pink basketball and pink singlets.
“Basketball is sometimes viewed as a predominantly boys’ sport, and netball is often seen as the girls’ sport,” Westgate Basketball committee member Jo Hansby said.
“We’ve got lower participation rates in our girls’ teams across the board, and our Aussie Hoops coach found out about a Pinkball program that was getting run across Dandenong, and thought it would be great to try it out here in the West.
“It’s a fun way to advertise basketball to girls – and that’s not to say that all girls will want to do Pinkball, we’ve still got girls registered in the Aussie Hoops program.”
The Pinkball team already has 20 young girls signed up.
The Westgate Basketball Association has boys’ teams in under-10s, under-12s, under-14s, under-16s and under-20s, and girls’ teams in under-13s and under-17s.
The group is also looking to start a women’s and mixed adults team.
Go to www.westgatebasketball.com.au for more information.
