Acclaim for fostering grassroots sport

Wyong Leagues Group has won the Fostering Grassroots Sport category of the 2024 ClubsNSW Clubs and Community Awards.

The annual awards, held this year on June 6, recognise outstanding contributions made by clubs within their communities.

Wyong Leagues Group took out the major award from a field of 17 other finalists with its program submission entitled Keeping the Waves Rolling which detailed the rescue of Central Coast Waves Basketball Association from extinction in 2023.

In April 2023 Waves shut the doors to their courts at Niagara Park Stadium and suspended all trading, leaving hundreds of domestic and representative players blindsided.

The Association had contacted Basketball NSW the previous month expressing concerns about its financial stability, which had not recovered from the setbacks of COVID-19.

In May Wyong Leagues Group entered into an agreement to buy Central Coast Waves Basketball Association, ensuring its stable future with financial and management backing as a sub-club of the Group.

An official season launch for Waves in July heralded a new chapter for the basketball club.

Wyong Leagues Group CEO Ben Coghlan said the award submission Keeping the Waves Rolling highlighted the positive impact of maintaining a sports outlet for hundreds of children and families across the Central Coast.

“Obviously being acknowledged by our clubs industry with such a prestigious award is very gratifying and something we are very proud of, however, our greater pride is in having been able to successfully mount such a program with undeniably clear community benefit,” he said.