The Australian Basketball Shooters League will officially launch in Wagga on Saturday 27 September, marking the beginning of the search for Australia’s best shooter. Photo: Supplied.
The three-point shooting competition is a major staple of the NBA All-Star Weekend.
The likes of Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, and Damien Lillard have all cemented their status as basketball legends by winning the competition.
Unfortunately for lovers of the sport, the competition is difficult to organise, as 25 balls, five racks and a bunch of ball catchers are needed.
Fortunately, thanks to a Wagga couple, it has been made possible here with the launch of the Australian Basketball Shooters League (ABSL).
As part of the new national competition, launching in Wagga Wagga, Bec and Kurt Wawszkowicz will take the show to more than 70 sites across the country in hopes of finding the country’s best shooter.
“The idea for the Australian Basketball Shooters League came from the fact we have a history of basketball in the family and our three boys are really into basketball,” Bec said.
“With that, basketball players love to shoot. Three-point competitions and free-throw competitions are such a big thing, but they haven’t been really spread much further than the NBA when they have it at the All-Star Weekend.
“So the idea was that the Australian Basketball Shooters League is a nationwide basketball shooting competition.
“The whole thing has moved pretty quickly; we’ve booked about 75 of the planned 100 venues across the country. By the time we’ve visited them all, it will have taken a full calendar year.”
In an effort to make the league as legitimate as possible, the ABSL was able to secure a partnership with Wilson, the basketball brand used in the NBA, as well as Queensland merchandisers Hoop to Hoop.
“There are plenty of people around Australia who are really on board with the concept,” Bec said.
“The concept is basically a series of one-day events across 100 different locations.
“Shooters from different age groups, including under 12, under 14, under 17s and then opens for men and women.
“Everyone shoots two rounds of three-point shooting with 25 shots per round, then they shoot two rounds of 10 free throws, and their best free-throw score is combined with their best three-point score, and that is their total score for the day.
“In each age group, the highest score is the winner, and they will be invited to a national championships event in Melbourne in November next year, where, for each age group, the winner at nationals will be crowned a national champion shooter.”
The launch of the league will officially start on 27 September at Wagga Wagga’s Equex Stadium, with registrations now open at the ABSL website.
“Wagga is where we live and we’ve got a fantastic stadium with Equex, so it makes sense that that’s where we launch it,” Bec said.
“We’ve based our events to cater for 240 shooters in one day, and we’ll need three courts to do that over eight hours. So, Wagga, being a regional centre with those facilities, is perfect.
“While you don’t have to be registered to a local club to take part, we do ask that if you are, you represent your local team by wearing your team jersey.
“The best eight shooters will be invited to nationals next November, so we really do encourage everyone who wants to take part to please register now.”
The ABSL will officially launch on Saturday 27 September and will have U12 boys and girls, U14 boys and girls, U18 boys and girls and men’s and women’s open categories.
Times will be advertised once registered.
