The Wanneroo Basketball Association has completed a very successful month, receiving a number of individual, team and Association based recognitions in the past month.

The successful month commenced at the annual Basketball WA Awards evening.  The first award for the evening was the WABL Female Player of the Year – which was awarded to Amy Kidner.  Amy, daughter of senior Wolves and WA U/20’s coach Brad Kidner was a well deserving recipient of the award which complements her impressive basketball resume which includes captaining the Wolves u14 touring team in 2007, the 2009 Most Improved Athlete in the National Intensive Training Program and captaining WA Metro at the 2010 U16 Nationals where she led the tournament in rebounding and went top ten for points scored, steals and free throws.

The second award was for Personality of the year – which was awarded to Paul Slattery.  Paul has been the long time “silky smooth” voice of the Wolves, and it is well deserved recognition.  Paul’s professional approach, insightful comments and also his ability to sing the national anthem when encountered with technical difficulties truly position him as one of the best court announcers in the league.  Congratulations Paul. 

The final award of the night was the announcement that the Wanneroo Basketball Association had retained the Gillam Trophy – for the most successful Association in Western Australia – for the 3rd consecutive year.  This was the second year in a row that the Trophy had been awarded to the Wolves prior to the end of the WABL season.  This is a remarkable achievement and is a reflection of the Wolves dominance in recent years.  In the 14 WABL divisions, the Wolves won nearly 80% of games played, had 12 teams who finished 1st, 2nd or 3rd overall at the end of the regular season and qualified 7 teams through to the Grand Final.  

The next round of awards occurred at the WABL Grand Final Day – with four Wolves teams winning their respective divisions.  Congratulations to the Under 15 Boys, Under 16 Girls and Under 18 Division 1 Men.  Three championships out of fourteen teams is a fantastic achievement!  Congratulations should also go to Ben Murphy (U18 Div 1 men) and Ashleigh Cole (U18 Women) who were recognised as the Most Valuable Player of their respective divisions.  Recognition also needs to be made of the following All-Star Team selections:  Chelsea Belcher and Kaitlin King (U13 Women), Kane Trenouth and Nick Zivanovic (U14 Men), Savannah Bafford (U14 Women), Madisen Scott (U15 Women), Amy Kidner (U16 Women), James Anthony (U18Div2 Men), Clint Matthews (U23 Men) and Reece Maxwell (Open Men).  The team and individual performances for the Wolves have been outstanding in 2009, and we look forward to even more success in 2010.

Remember that try-outs for 2010 occur in late October.  If you would like more information please contact Van Kailis at the Wolves office on 9300 1325.