Success of Salthill basketball event prompts call for permanent courts
From this week's Galway City Tribune - For many players in Galway, basketball is not always about competing, it is about making connections.
When Basketball Ireland hosted a ‘3x3’ tournament in Salthill carpark last weekend, many people came out to take part and support.
And now, Galway City Council has come under pressure to provide a permanent basketball court, with Toft Park in Salthill – beside the aquarium – mooted as the idea location.
Joe Coughlan, founder and coach with Titans Basketball Club says that kids and adults from the club were in Salthill at the weekend.
“I told them go down to make up the numbers and there was no problem, and actually we couldn't get enough teams into it, it was confined. But there was loads more interest which was wonderful.”
And when the tournaments ended, other people began to use the two half-courts, with some people playing until the early hours of the morning.
“The guy in charge of security down there said people came and asked, ‘can we shoot a bit of ball?’, and it didn't seem to be bothering anybody.
“There was no division at all. It was all just sitting around chatting and seeing how we all need this, just to be socialising and meeting each other in a social way like that. You don't have to always be competitive,” says Joe.
The court was only there for the weekend, but its location is not far from the area Joe and Titans would like an outdoor basketball court to be built.
In their submission to the Draft City Development Plan 2023-29, the basketball club asked Galway City Council to consider developing an outdoor basketball court in Toft Park.
According to the Galway Area Basketball Board, there are 2,435 players registered with Basketball Ireland affiliated clubs and a further 2,670 players registered through schools.
This is a shortened preview version of this article. To read the rest of the story, see the June 17 edition of the Galway City Tribune. You can buy a digital edition HERE.