IT SEEMS increasingly likely that top-flight Basketball, which has captivated audiences in North Mayo for over 30 years now, is about to come to a sad, painful and bitter end, unless a resolution to an impasse between the sport’s governing body, Basketball Ireland, and Team Merry Monk Ballina, can be brokered in the next two weeks. The parties have been at loggerheads since moves to relocate Merry Monk to the Southern Conference were initiated last month.
Stemming from the decision of the Superleague Management Board, to induct a new, Belfast-based team to the competition for the 2007/08 season, Team Merry Monk find themselves reassigned to the Southern Conference- even though they have been operating in the Northern division since being reinstated to the Superleague in 2003, along with the Belfast and Dublin based sides.
Officials of the club claim the new arrangements threaten the 2007 Superleague final-ists with financial ruin. They say that the decision of the Superleague Management Board (SLMB) will add at least 1,000 miles and costs in excess of •10,000 to Team Merry Monk’s season.
It is also claimed that the recommendation to move Ballina to the Southern Conference was made by the Organisation of Superleague Clubs (OSC), at a meeting, held in the Ballina club’s absence, and that they have not been issued with a satisfactory explanation as to how the final decision was made. The Superleague Management Board (SLMB) upheld the proposed development and an appeal will now be heard by Basketball Ireland’s Appeals Board.
“This is a serious blow for Basketball in the West. Merry Monk has been a beacon for the development of the game in Connacht. We feel the decision and the manner in which it has been made is paramount to constructive dismissal from the league,” reads a statement issued by the club this week.
Such contentions have been firmly disputed by Basketball Ireland. Responding to the allegations, they claim that all clubs, through the OSC, were consulted before the final recommendations were made.
“While this decision was made by the Superleague Mens Board (SLMB), the recommendation of the Organisation of Superleague Clubs (OSC) was taken into account. All clubs in the Superleague are represented on this Board, including Ballina.
“It is not the case that Basketball Ireland or the SLMB dictate such policies. The decision was made by considering what is the best solution for the entire league, and the sport in general, and not any one entity in the league,” said a press state-ment released by the body’s Public Relations Office on Wednesday.
“As a result of Ballina’s dis-satisfaction of the decision, the Superleague manager and two board members met with three representatives from Ballina on Monday July 23rd and explained the position of the SLMB. At that meeting a number of possible avenues were explored, so the Board are disappointed the club felt it necessary to issue such a release to the media, especially in advance of the Appeal hearing.
“The SLMB greatly value the role Ballina have played in the Superleague since entering three seasons ago, and look forward to working with the Ballina club to find a resolution to their predicament,” continues the statement.
While Ballina officials accept that the Superleague Management Committee “did listen” to their worries and concerns, they feel aggrieved at Basketball Ireland’s handling of the situation.
“We’re very much aggrieved with the way the whole re-structuring of the leagues was handled. It’s a huge blow to the club, we’re frustrated, angry and annoyed, and at this stage the general feeling within the club is that the Appeals Board is not going to rule favourably,” says chairman, Kevin Clarke.
“When we met with the Superleague manager, Karl Donnelly, and other members of the board, we put forward three proposals by way of compromise.
1 - That the league revert to one conference with home and away ties. That way we could guarantee full houses for home games, instead of situations where the weaker teams are visiting three times in a season.
2 - That we enter the Southern Conference, but are guaranteed 10 home and five away games. That was an immediate non-runner.
3 - That the existing Northern Conference teams rotate to the Southern. Nonrunner.
“Basically, we feel our concerns were cast aside. The attitude was that there was nothing the SLMB could do, and we were advised to seek the assistance of the OSC, which we did, even before we departed Longford on July 23.
“I rang the chairman of the OSC and quite frankly, was subjected to a personal attack on the phone, so that was absolutely futile to our cause,” continues Clarke.
“We are of the belief that very little effort went into this thought process and the attittude seems to be that relocating Merry Monk was the easiest option. The Belfast and Dublin teams were never going to allow themsleves get into this predicament, so even if the original OSC meeting had gone to a vote, we would have been sorely outnumbered,” sighs Clarke.
“We got the blunt end of the stick. We accept that something had to happen to accommodate the new team but there was nothing by way of consultation and that is what has really upset us. We lodged our appeal last Thursday and Karl Donnelly had indicated that there was no panic with the fixtures being released, yet, low and behold, he issued them on Friday, before we have even received confirmation of the appeal date. That’s a distinct lack of courtesy as far as we are concerned and surely it must be seen as prejudicial to the outcome of the appeal,” he queried. “We will fight this 100% and we’ll go to the appeal hearing believing we can win, but if we are unsuccessful, I fear for Basketball in the West. We have made tremendous strides over the past few years and were planning on entering a team in Division One next season which is a real indication of how strongly we have developed the game.
“We have an U18 squad going to Pittsburgh and Boston in October and we were the first team to introduce top-level Basketball to Donegal, when we played a Superleague game in Letterkenny last season, while we have a constant presence in the local primary and secondary schools. Our committment to the game cannot be questioned, but if this goes ahead and our senior team is forced out of the Superleague, it will be almost impossible to maintain current interest levels,” concludes Clarke.
