Basketball Sports Section

By Secretary PC Mark Booth

The men unfortunately did not progress past the regional championships.

During the season the men’s squad play in the Hyndburn and district local league and came a healthy third.

In Birmingham the ladies team on the third occasion of playing in the national Police Sport UK Championships came fourth, after some excellent play from all the squad, but especially Clare Bradshaw and Jeanette Wallbank. Clare has been selected to train with the GB squad and Jeanette was selected for the all star five. This means that the side are seeded next year in the championships, being hosted at Glasgow.

Training for the ladies squad still takes place at Hutton every other Monday.

2007 top

Report pending...

2006 top

By Secretary Inspector Peter Zsigmond

This year, the Men’s Basketball Section continued field a team in the Burnley Basketball League, and entered the Police Sport UK National Championships.

We continue to enjoy success in the league by again coming second for the third season running. The new players recruited over the last couple of seasons are now showing a marked improvement and now increasingly contributing to the success of the team. We also recruited a couple of new players from the recent intake of student officers who should significantly reduce the average age of the team.

The Regional Qualifier for the Police Sport UK National Championships was hosted in Sefton by Merseyside Police. We were narrowly defeated by both the other teams in the tournament, who went on to take third and fourth place in the final Tournament.

We are still looking to recruit new players recently, so if you are interested in playing basketball, please contact the secretary, Peter Zsigmond on 07973 254932, or email: bigzig@lineone.net or Peter.Zsigmond@lancashire.pnn.police.uk

The Women’s Basketball Section competed in the Championships held in Grangemouth, Scotland on 12-14 May 2006. They finished in 9^th position, but won the Dai Potter Fair Play Trophy. They are now training for the 2007 competition to be held in London on 18/19 May. If you are an experienced player, or just fancy a go, please contact Peter Zsigmond (details shown above), or Jo Stubbs at Bispham on 07950 383393, or email: Joanne.Stubbs@lancashire.pnn.police.uk

2005 top

By Secretary Inspector Peter Zsigmond

This year, the Men’s Basketball Section continued field a team in the Burnley Basketball League, and entered the Police Sport UK National Championships.

We repeated the 2003/04 season achievement in the league by again coming second, and in the period up to New Year in the 2005/06 season, we were undefeated.

The Regional Qualifier for the Police Sport UK National Championships were again hosted in Gateshead by Northumbria. We were once again narrowly defeated by Northumbria, having lead for 80% of the game, and were soundly beaten by Greater Manchester who went on to come third in the final Tournament. As a result, we did not progress to the finals.

We are still looking to recruit new players recently, so if you are interested in playing basketball, please contact the secretary, Peter Zsigmond by email: Peter Zsigmond

The Women’s Basketball Section have been training hard for their return to competitive National Competition in 2006. They will be competing in the Championships to be held in Grangemouth, Scotland on 12-14 May 2006, and all participants are welcome. If you are an experienced player, or just fancy a go, please contact Peter Zsigmond (details shown above), or Jo Stubbs at Bispham by email: Joanne Stubbs

2004

By Secretary Inspector Peter Zsigmond

This year, the Basketball Section fielded a team in the Burnley Basketball League, and entered the Police Sport UK National Championships. We also made a return visit to Gibraltar.

We completed the 2003/04 season in the league in second place, and in the period up to New Year in the 2004/05 season, we have won two & lost two.

In the Regional Qualifier for the Police Sport UK National Championships hosted in Gateshead, we fielded a below strength team due to injury and short notice for the tournament. We were narrowly defeated by both Northumbria and South Yorkshire. The net result of this was that we did not progress to the finals.

During our visit to Gibraltar we played three games, beating both the Gibraltar Police and the Fire Service, and losing by fifteen points to the Gibraltar National under 21’s. We have been invited back to participate in their centenary celebrations in June 2005, where we will be playing police opposition from Wales and Ireland as well as Gibraltar. We are looking forward to our return visit.

We have managed to recruit three new players recently, but are always looking for more, so if you are interested in playing basketball, please contact the secretary, Peter Zsigmond on 07973 254932, or email: bigzig@lineone.net or Peter.Zsigmond@lancashire.pnn.police.uk

2003

By Secretary Inspector Peter Zsigmond

This year, the Basketball Section fielded a team in the Burnley Basketball League, and entered the Police Sport UK National Championships. We also had a visit from a team of Police Officers from Gibraltar.

We completed the 2002/03 season in the league in third place, and in the period up to New Year in the 2003/04 season, we are undefeated.

In the Regional Qualifier for the Police Sport UK National Championships hosted in Greater Manchester, we fielded a below strength team due to injury and short notice for the tournament. Northumbria narrowly defeated us, and soundly beaten by GMP, although GMP were subsequently disqualified from the competition following the finals for fielding an ineligible player. The net result of this was that we did not progress to the finals.

Our visitors from Gibraltar played two games, narrowly losing both. We are looking forward to our return visit.

We are always looking for new players, so if you are interested in playing basketball, please contact the secretary, Peter Zsigmond on 07973 254932, or email: bigzig@lineone.net or Peter.Zsigmond@lancashire.pnn.police.uk

2002

By Secretary Inspector Peter Zsigmond

The Club finished in a creditable third place in the Burnley & District Basketball League for the season 2001/2.

The Force played host to the PAA National Basketball Championships for Men in Blackpool in April this year. The event was attended by eleven visiting teams and was also the venue for the PAA Basketball Section AGM.

The Club continues to compete in the Burnley & District Basketball League for the season 2002/3, and has met with moderate success in the build up for the 2003 PAA Championships.

New players are always welcome at a variety of standards, so please feel free to contact the secretary, Peter Zsigmond by any of the means shown on the Force Intranet.

2001

By Secretary Inspector Peter Zsigmond

The section had a strong team during 2001 but did not attain any notable performances. However, the team won the PAA 'Sportsmanship Trophy' and player, John Thompson won the all star five.

The section hopes to host the 2002 PAA Championships.