The basis of the club's operation is captured in the vision and values statements adopted when the club was established in 1997.
"St Michael's Basketball Club aims to provide children with fun times, development of self-esteem, and an understanding of teamwork and a sense of community through participation and the development of skills. The club is run by the parents for the children. It offers equality of opportunity for all, encourages sportsmanship and positive attitudes. It aims to complement but not rely upon the school."
The club is part of the St Michael's Association which governs all the sporting bodies at the school. The club itself is managed by a committee of parents nominated annually at the annual general meeting held in the later part of the year. The Committee is formed with an Executive (President, Secretary, Treasurer and St Michael's Association Representative) as well as the Age Coordinators from each year group.
The club is a not for profit organisation. It aims to be self-sufficient in funding, maintaining a small working capital surplus from annual player fees after payment for equipment, training and fees payable to the St Michael's Association to cover insurances and other administrative expenses. The club also assists towards subsidising payments required for tournament participation ie: player entrance fees etc when appropriate.
Northern Suburbs Basketball Association (NSBA) runs the Basketball Competition called "Miniball". Match times are from 7.45am (U8s) through to 8pm (U13s) on a Saturday and some games on Friday's, with the U10s and U12s usually running between 9am to 5pm. These times fluctuate each season, as timing depends on the number of teams registering in each age group.
The Northern Suburbs Indoor Sports Centre (Rooftop) is situated at the corner of Oxley and Hume Streets, Crows Nest (above the Council car park) and is the venue for most games. Some age groups may play at Willoughby Leisure Centre, Marie Bashir courts at Mosman or SCEGGS Redlan. There is ample parking available at all venues.
In Term 1 and Term 4 training within teams is compulsory - there is no training offered for the Miniball 2 Winter competition (run over terms 2 and 3) as this is the "off-season" competition. Training is held in the school hall.
A parent supervisor is required at each training session and every family who registers their child for basketball agrees to assist with this task on a roster basis.
The Club also offers a popular introductory skills training program for Kinder and Year 1 children run after school over Term 2. The program includes key fundamental skills of basketball as well as game essentials designed to bridge the gap between skill training and the Saturday Miniball Competition. Our goal is to teach and reinforce fundamental basketball skills in the context of a game. Along with the individual and team skills learnt, participants will learn the rules and style of a Saturday Miniball game. Notices for this will appear in the school newsletter and all Kinder and Year 1 children will have notices emailed home via the Class Parents in advance about the program.
For further details of training, including the current team training schedule, please go to the Training section in this website.
The basketball uniform (blue shorts and vest with white trim) can be purchased at the school uniform shop.
At the beginning of each new Miniball season the club issues an information sheet to every family with a child currently registered with the Basketball Club as well as placing a notice in The Michaelian directing new families to the Club website for registration . The Club will also email its members from time to time with necessary information. As well, the Club distributes Team Lists at the beginning of each basketball season which contain all player and parent contact details so as to assist parents, players and the school in the communication process.
For the more skilled players there is the opportunity to attend trials for selection in Eastern Region, McKillop and PSSA teams. These are school-based competitions. In addition, there is a representative path via trials for selection in NSBA representative teams that compete in competitions sanctioned by the NSW Basketball Association.