Why our gold medalist Boomerangs face a funding battle ahead of the World Championships
The team, made up of players living with an intellectual disability, is set to defend their title in Astana, Kazakhstan from 12-24 June.
Photo credit: Australian Boomerangs
Two years ago, the Boomerangs reached the pinnacle of their sport, steamrolling to a 98-68 victory over Portugal in the final of the Virtus Global Games in Vichy, France.
“That was pretty massive,” Boomerangs captain Zach Georg-Dent, who was named MVP of that tournament, tells The Pick and Roll.
“I guess it was a bit of a release as well because [Portugal] beat us four years prior to that. It was a bit of revenge, but it was all so sweet in the end.”
Georg-Dent says playing on the team has made a massive difference for the players.
“We feed off each other and get out and about in the community. I think it definitely gives you a bit of confidence out in the real world, being able to do that stuff.”
Victorian combo guard Matt Farrar, also part of the 2023 champions, says being part of the team is a source of immense pride.
“It's probably the biggest honour I've ever had, to be honest,” he says. “Not everyone gets to represent their country at any level, so when you get the opportunity, it means the world to you.”
Boomerangs coach Ryan Holloway says that being part of the program has been life-changing for many players.
“A lot of these guys, I guess you could say, have had difficulties in the real world, different challenges. Being able to come together, they find support and connection with each other, and their common goals prevail.
“As coaches and staff, our goal is to see them develop as people, to increase their confidence, not just on the court, but off the court, and to increase their ability to face adversity and deal with stressful situations.”
Despite their success, the Boomerangs are taking a reduced squad of eight players to the upcoming 2025 Virtus World Basketball Championship in Kazakhstan, where teams like France and Portugal are expected to contend for the title. 19 players were part of the Boomerangs’ preliminary training squad for the tournament.
“We've had some people that haven't been able to afford it this time around,” Holloway explains.
“One of the biggest challenges that we face in this program is that it’s predominantly player-funded.
“We do get some support from Basketball Australia, but without some good fundraising or sponsorship behind the team, it can cost us over $120,000 to send a team to an international tournament.”
With the event only weeks away, the team is still looking for sponsors who could help additional players join the team.
“It would help us out so much,” Farrar says of the possibility of extra funding. “We have to do everything ourselves; an extra hand would go a long way.”
Georg-Dent says the team is grateful to its existing sponsors.
“Some very supportive people out there have been helping us out quite a lot, but it’s always good to have new [supporters] and we have a great bunch of lads.”
In addition to the funding challenge, the team is also working to maintain its culture after a number of players retired after the win in 2023.
“Thankfully, we’ve got a few experienced players,” Holloway says. “Zach drives a lot of that cultural piece on the floor for us.
“We’ve also got some really clear foundations around the values for the team and what they hold themselves to when it comes to camps. The challenge of recreating the culture is there with new players coming in, but we set it from the start; it's part of their introduction to the overarching program.
“One of the biggest challenges we've had over the last year with finding new players is that we only see them once a year really at Nationals, so it's been about getting a broader view of things and seeing who else might be out there that isn't playing in the Nationals.”
Georg-Dent - who plays in the Boomerangs with his brother Keenan - says that the team has lost a lot of experience but there is upside in a youthful squad.
“The energy is still there from the younger players coming on board; they’re buzzing around and taking everything in their stride. I’m really excited to see what they can do.”
Yet another challenge is transitioning from 5v5 basketball to the 3v3 format. “Training has been a challenge in that space,” Holloway acknowledges.
“This category is transitioning towards 3x3, so we've seen it pop up a few times but this will be the first time that we've actually competed in 3x3 internationally.
“We're teaching players not only how to play the 5x5 game, but now we've got to incorporate the 3x3 into it at the same time. We're teaching two games at once, basically.”
Holloway has been around basketball since childhood and took to coaching at a young age, including school teams and groups in Mini Ball and Aussie Hoops. He often coached multiple teams on the same day, such was his passion for the game. He went on to coach Victoria in the Ivor Burge competition, the national tournament for players with intellectual impairment and also led the Dingoes, the Australian Deaf and Hard of Hearing U21 team. He says his approach is very much culture-first rather than starting from x’s and o’s.
“We have to maximise the time we have with [the players],” he explains. “Our big focus is creating and maintaining a high-performance environment for them. It is a high-performance team; they're competing for their country and on the international stage.
“Traditionally, they’ve competed against each other in national championships every year, and that's where they have this inner rivalry. Our job is to break down those barriers and show them how to connect on a larger scale to achieve success on the world stage.”
Recently, Holloway took the team to an escape room to help build their puzzle-solving skills and teamwork. They’ve also run workshops focusing on the people behind the basketballers, with each team member sharing how they got into the Boomerangs and what it means to them to represent their country.
For Georg-Dent, the event is an opportunity to highlight the achievements of those living with a disability. His day job in the disability support sector, and he is passionate about his work.
“I'm living the life, so who better to help others that are in the same situation as myself? I’m showing them that there is a way to do things and that it's possible to interact with everyone else as well, to just be normal in a sense, if anyone can be normal these days.
“Knowing the challenges that some people go through, whether they’re the same as me or completely different, I can see what they’re seeing, and help them be themselves.”
Whatever challenges the Boomerangs face, Farrar says they’re determined to get through them together.
“Everyone on our team is so close,” he says. “It’s just one big giant family.”
Anyone interested in supporting the Boomerangs can follow this link or contact Basketball Australia.