The future of the Hobart Chargers appears to be in further limbo following an extraordinary board meeting on Saturday morning.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The current SEABL men’s champions are reconsidering its position to withdrawal an application to play in the new elite Victorian-based league.
The club board announced last Friday that it would put forward to its members to suspend operations for 2019 “unless circumstances changed significantly”.
They had blamed financial constraints forced on the Chargers through restricting access to the Basketball in Schools funding and the requirements of the memorandum of understanding to not run academies and other junior programs in Hobart.
The Chargers say they have since been presented with new information that includes a partnership between Basketball Tasmania and NZNBL club Southern Huskies, including running the basketball programs.
“We need to have that information clarified as it seems that better environment does exist – we had simply been kept completely in the dark about it,” a media statement read.
The Chargers said this is a “complete changing of the rules” provided to one-time SEABL clubs to get Basketball Tasmania to sign off on joining the new league.
“Given these changes, we are unable to make a decision on the future of the Hobart Chargers at this time,” the statement said.
“We will be writing to Basketball Tasmania to find out if these revised rules were to be offered to the former SEABL clubs and if not, why not?
“We’ve been talking to Basketball Tasmania since October about the requirements to join the league and have at no stage been given an indication that such a lucrative arrangement could be possible within the federated model operated by Basketball Tasmania.”
The board will meet again next week to consider whether a similar arrangement will be offered to the Launceston Tornadoes and the North West Thunder.