SEABL and Basketball Victoria have joined forces to oversee the transfer of governance of the SEABL D-League competition.

In November last year the SEABL Members and Board voted to transfer control of the SEABL Championship League to Basketball Australia. This action would serve to complete the vision of having all major competitions effectively under the one umbrella organization of BA and enhance the pathway for the development of players and the sport. Transition of SEABL to the new governance structure commenced in 2012 and is due to be completed at the end of the 2013 season.

As a consequence of this decision, SEABL had to decide where the D-League competition would reside.

Following discussions with Basketball Victoria, it was determined that it would not be acceptable to have an intra-state competition (i.e., the D-League) effectively being conducted by Basketball Australia. As a result, the SEABL Victorian Associations and Basketball Victoria reached an agreement whereby BV would assume governance of the D-League for 2012 season and the competition would be re-branded as the “Basketball Victoria D-League.”

SEABL General Manager Mark Chivers said that the D-League competition had come along way in a few years and had become an important part of the SEABL development process:

“The original idea for a D-League was something that came from the clubs to lift the status and establish a strong brand for their youth and development programs. The standard of competition has been exceptional considering the small amount of time the competition has existed, and we’ve seen a lot of players move through the competition to become solid contributors at the championship level. SEABL is excited to find a new home for the competition that Basketball Victoria has offered to manage the competition on behalf of the participating members.”

Basketball Victoria CEO Wayne Bird also spoke positively about the competition and it’s role within the development of young players in Victoria:

“From Basketball Victoria’s perspective, we’re really pleased to see the clubs that participate in the D-league wanting to come in under the BV umbrella. We see it as a positive step forward as we continue to review our structures and work with our stakeholders to look for what ultimately will be the most beneficial configuration for our elite senior competitions in our state heading into the future.”

This first season of the BVDL (2012) will be a transition period where SEABL and VJBL will effectively be co-administrators of the competition. A wider review of how the BVDL sits within the Victorian basketball structure will be concluded later in the year.

In 2012 the competition will operate with the existing eight D-League men’s and eight women’s teams.