Basketball

Contact: Andy Cummins
acummins@cornwall.gov.uk
07968 892946 01872 323350

Basketball is a hugely popular sport throughout the world and is the third highest participated sport in England. It has become a hugely popular sport because it is fun, fast paced, a good calorie burner and cheap as, all you need is a pair of trainers and a couple of pounds. However, five years ago if you wanted to get involved in basketball in Cornwall you would be very hard pressed to find a club or other players. However things have started to change with the sport developing immensely throughout the County.

There is now a competitive local Men’s league with 6 teams from all the regions of the county competing in regular league and cup fixtures. Wadebridge Storm basketball club have decided to go one step further and entered into the Founders Cup. The competition is a stepping stone to entering into the National League. At present the club are second in their league with comprehensive victories in the majority of their matches. All the local teams have development programmes in place to encourage youngsters to take up the game.
There is only one team in Cornwall for womens basketball - Fowey Foxes who have been competing in friendly fixtures throughout the region over the past year.

There is also a strong school and college league structure now in place with over 40 school and college teams competing for the prestigious title of Cornwall School/College champions in their respective age groups. Due to the popularity of the sport among young participants Truro College decided to set up a Basketball Academy which involves players getting regular high level coaching, introduction into athlete and player development and gaining a variety of coaching qualifications. The team has a number of players who play for Cornwall Cougars and Plymouth Raiders National league basketball clubs. The players are currently having their most successful season reaching the last 20 in the British Colleges Cup and so far being unbeaten.

As a result of the increasing popularity and standard of basketball in 2006 a few volunteers decided it was time to set up a National League club called Cornwall Cougars Basketball. The team initially entered a men’s team into the South West Division 4 with players from all the local league teams coming together to show the South West the best of Cornish Basketball. The Men’s team were highly successful and put together a comprehensive plan to develop Basketball throughout the different age groups. In the first year the club won the U14 Inter Regional Competition. This was a huge result for Cornwall as they went on to represent the South West in the National finals with three players being selected to play for the South West in a variety of International tournaments. The Club now has a primary development group, U14, U16, U18 and Men’s teams all looking to play in the England Basketball National League. The club now has a range of coaches working in schools across the county with an emphasis on hand to eye coordination and learning the basics of the game.

Basketball Clubs in Cornwall
Cornwall Cougars, Wadebridge Storm, Truro Tornadoes, Callington Roos, Bude Bats, Newquay Sharks, Truro College Academy, Penryn Sarcacens*, Penwith Panthers* Truro Tornadoes*
* Denotes junior club only