In a change two years in the making, the association will now reflect members on both sides of the Murray River and become known as Echuca-Moama Basketball Association.
Basketball Victoria confirmed its board had accepted the name change at its September meeting, with Basketball NSW having no objection to the name change.
EMBA president Lisa Baker said incorporating both Echuca and Moama in the name signalled a positive future for the association.
“The committee has been working with Basketball Victoria to secure the name change, which now represents the border town and all its members,” Baker said.
In its application to Basketball Victoria, the association outlined that having two associations in Echuca and Moama respectively would hinder success for both sides of the river, as they would compete for memberships.
With Deniliquin the closest Basketball NSW association in the region it was noted it was not viable for Moama residents interested in playing basketball to travel up to an hour away to train and compete, when an association operated five minutes away in Echuca.
Both Murray River and Campaspe Shire councils were supportive of this unique arrangement, with the association’s junior basketball tournament and its hosting rights of the Basketball Victoria Country Jamboree big coups for the twin towns.
Murray River Council is also in the process of developing and building a two-court stadium, which Baker said would only strengthen the EMBA's ability to cater for future competitions and programs.
EMBA’s upcoming summer senior and junior domestic competition is slated to start on November 8 and run to April 8, 2022, while its junior tournament has been rescheduled to March, 2022.
Registrations for the domestic season are now open for all players and can be done through https://www.playhq.com/basketball-victoria/org/echuca-basketball-association/9b5345ec
The committee has subsided fees for all players with the hope this will assist families and players with returning to sport.
EMBA also has a new website at https://echucabasketball.tidyhq.com/
For more information about Echuca Moama Basketball Association, email info@echucabasketball.com.au
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