Ballina’s future in doubt

Merry Monk unsure of future

Edwin McGreal

TEAM MERRY MONK, Ballina have threatened to withdraw from the Men’s Superleague if plans to enter them in the old southern conference for the coming season proceed.
For the last three years Ballina had competed in the northern conference, playing against one team from Belfast and four from Dublin. However, the entry of another Belfast team (from the University of Jordanstown) has led to Basketball Ireland proposing a switch that would see Ballina enter a conference with teams based in Kerry, Cork and Limerick.
According to Merry Monk club chairman, Kevin Clarke, the extra costs and journey times just would not be feasible.
“We have appealed the decision but if we lose the appeal we won’t be in the Super League next year,” he told The Mayo News. “ There is a cost problem and then you have the fact that we’d be returning from games at 4am in the morning. That’s just not fair on lads.”
Currently the Superleague is split into two conferences, a northern and a southern. Clubs play teams within their own conference three times and teams from the other conference once.
Ballina contend that playing in the southern conference would add an extra 1,000 miles for them each year. However, Basketball Ireland submitted a statement last week disputing much of what Ballina had said in their own press release, also circulated to media outlets last week.
The Basketball Ireland statement said that the decision was taken by the ‘Superleague Men’s Board’, and that the recommendation of the ‘Organisation of Superleague Clubs’ was taken into account. It said that Ballina had met with a delegation from Basketball Ireland on July 23 and that Basketball Ireland were ‘disappointed the Club felt it necessary to issue such a release to the media’.
The statement went on to dispute the figures Ballina quoted and said that the travel differential from this season to last season for Merry Monk would be an increase in distance of 614km and an increase in time of three and a half hours.
Kevin Clarke disputes these claims vehemently. “I’m not quite sure how we are meant to do 614km in three and a half hours,“ he argued. “I don’t think that’s provided for in the speeding laws of the country.
“As well as that it is impossible to base your travel on a single season. One season you will have two home games and only one away against some teams and then the following year it will be reversed. One year our total mileage might be 1,500 and the next it might be 2,500.”
Ballina estimate that it costs them in the region of €60,000 per year to compete in the Superleague at present and their manager Terry Kennedy had already travelled to the USA to make initial efforts to sign two American players for next season. All that is now on the back-burner and Clarke feels that the damage that could be caused to the game in the town could be disastrous.
“There is great momentum behind basketball in Ballina but not having a Superleague team would have a massive adverse affect on the game in the town. A 13 year old kid might aspire to play Superleague but with no team that kid could be lost to Gaelic football, rugby or to sport altogether.
“Only today (Friday) I got a letter from Seamus Granahan, Director of Services at Ballina Town Council,” added the club Chairman. “Initial plans had been set in place for five outdoor courts to be put in parks in the town but he is now asking if it is viable if there mightn’t be a Superleague team.”
The appeal is set to be heard on Tuesday, August 14 but Clarke isn’t confident of Ballina’s chances. “The (appeals) board has been appointed by Basketball Ireland and has all ex-Basketball Ireland men on it so we’re not too optimistic. We had three alternative suggestions. One was for one league rather than two, that would be more competitive and just consist of a home and away game against each club. That was shot down.
“We then suggested we play in the southern conference but with ten home games and five away games. That was denied and then we suggested that the four Dublin teams rotate entering the southern conference and for us to remain in the north. That was thrown out too. No proper assessment has been made of why we should play in the southern conference instead of anyone else.”
Basketball Ireland were contacted by The Mayo News for further comment but a spokesman declined to add to the earlier statement in advance of Ballina’s appeal.