With any sporting club, there is a multitiude of roles to be filled by selfless volunteers. And basketball is one such sport that needs the helping hands of committee members, scorers, parents, coaches and team managers to operate.
For the majority of volunteers at EMBA, the work isn’t just a one-time thing, with a contingent supporting the club’s endeavours on multiple nights, week in and week out.
EMBA president Lisa Baker emphasised the importance of the club’s volunteers regardless of experience or skill level.
“Without our volunteers the association wouldn’t run. Even as little as someone turning up to score every week to ensure that the games go ahead is such a valuable thing for us,” she said.
“Many hands make light work, without them we would be nothing, they turn up week to week and help out.
“Our coaches who sometimes know nothing about basketball but show up and make sure the kids are having fun on the court and getting that playing time and experiencing the great sport that basketball is.”
Baker highlighted the impact parents of juniors helping out has on the overall enjoyment of club members and the role of the volunteer committee steering the ship.
“We have a nice mixture of parents of players and also parents that just want to see their kids have fun out on the court, which is awesome to see,” she said.
“They just want to help out as much as they can and see their kids succeed; all of their collective effort week in and week out is vital to the success of our club.
“The committee do a monumental job and do so much work behind the scenes and without them we’d be completely lost.”
Baker pointed to the services of committee members and their long-standing commitment to the club and what she believes volunteers get out of supporting basketball in Echuca-Moama.
“Our treasurer Tara Sproxton has been our treasurer for 10 years and her kids aren’t playing anymore but she still helps out and is on the committee,” she said.
“Felicity Hutton has been in and out of the committee and again has no juniors playing, she’s just there because she loves it so much.
“I think the main thing the volunteers get out of helping us is the enjoyment of it, seeing kids having fun, I know when you have your own kids playing you can see how valuable it is.
“It is definitely a good social experience for us, the committee really enjoy spending time with each other which is amazing.
“We are all there for the common goal of making sure everyone is having fun while playing basketball.”
The association is always looking for new volunteers in any capacity, particularly for major events such as the junior basketball tournament.
If you want to get involved message the Echuca Moama Basketball Association’s Facebook page for more information.
