History of Club

In 1997 local Hurstbridge residents and basketball fanatics Peter Trask and Jeff Lyon saw the potential for a basketball team/club to be formed from the endless amount of talent in the Hurstbridge area. So, in November of '97 Peter and Jeff sought interest from local players, and as a consequence entered two teams, an U12 Girls and an U10 Boys, into the Diamond Valley Basketball Association (DVBA)competition. The teams played their first game in February '98 as the Hurstbridge Rustlers. This was the beginning of the Hurstbridge Basketball Club.

A small committee was formed over the Christmas break.

                                              Peter Trask          President

                                              Jeff Lyon             Vice President

                                              Jenny Trask         Treasurer

                                              Gary Milne           Secretary

                                              Glyniss Austin      Committee Member

                                              Gale Pohl            Committee Member

                                              Tom Pohl            Committee Member

         

                                                           Jeff Lyon                                         Peter Trask

The first uniform was designed by a local supplier and consisted of panels of white and burgundy on the singlets, and gold and white for the shorts.                               

                                                                                      Old Uniform

During the first season the name of the basketball club was often discussed at the Committee Meetings. It was then changed to the Hurstbridge Hurricanes Basketball Club. After about 18 months the current logo took shape and was incorporated on all official paperwork.

The members of the founding two teams were:

                                       Boys U10                                      Girls U12

                                       Travis Butler                                  Jessica Austin
                                       Rowan Clayton                               Maddison Caulfield
                                       Dale Lyon                                      Amy Faulkner
                                       Nick Milne                                      Victoria Gosstray
                                       Evan Pedic                                     Tegan Hemming
                                       Callum Pohl                                   Rebecca Ritchies
                                       Lachlan Trask                                 Carly Tilley
                                       Lucas Walsh                                   Jessica Trask

In 2006 the Committee decided to upgrade the uniform. Players and parents were asked to submit ideas and designs. After much deliberation, a set of uniforms were made and trialled at the Ballarat Basketball Tournament of June 2006. They drew admiration from not only our own players, but from our opposition teams and the referees. A Trivia Night was organised to help pay for the new uniforms. They were officially introduced to all teams in January 2007. Many thanks needs to be extended to Nina Galatopoulos who took this massive project on. Our uniform remains one of the most unique in Victoria.

     

                                                                                                                         New Uniform

The Club has grown at an amazing rate since it's inception and we now (2008) have 32 junior teams, making us one of the larger clubs playing in the Diamond Valley competition. We also have a number of open age men's and women's teams currently playing.

As the Club has grown we have had some great success stories.It wasn't long before we would win premierships in both the girls and boys competitions. The Club has also produced some great players, such as Luke Deylen, who was the first player to represent Victoria in the under 16 National Championships. We also had Kristian Williams who captained the Victorian State Under 18 Boys Team. We also currently have many players playing for the Diamond Valley Eagles in both boys and girls competitions.

We also need to acknowledge the outstanding contibutions of the following people since the Club's inception:

                                         Terry Stephens    -   coaching junior boys.

                                                 Jeff Lyon             -   boys & girls coaching,
                                                                               Club President.

                                                 Trevor Lee           -   coaching senior boys.

                                                 Trish Faulkner      -   coaching boys & girls,
                                                                               Club President.
   
                                                 Marlena Kinvig      -   numerous committee jobs,
                                                                                including tournament organisation.

During our 12 year history we have had only 4 Presidents:
          
                                                     Peter Trask         1998 - 2000
                                                     Jeff Lyon              2001 - 2004
                                                     Trish Faulkner     2005 - 2008
                                                                            Paul Riggs           2008 - present.
 

                      
                                                                                
                                                                 Trish Faulkner                                                                                Paul Riggs
 

The Hurstbridge Hurricanes Basketball Club continues to grow by drawing players from not only Hurstbridge, but from all around the local district. The Club continues to exist only through the the hard work and dedication of the organising Committee, Coaches and Team Managers, all of whom are volunteers.