I have a lot of sympathy for Basketball New Zealand, under resourced, under funded and mostly under the radar. But what was someone in their head office thinking when they decided to award the ninth placed finishers at last weekend’s Under 17 Nationals a trophy.
I was staggered when they called forward the captain’s from both the Boys and Girls competitions to receive an award for failing to make the top eight in the tournament. The losing semi finalists received no recognition but it was decided the team with the best record in the losing half of the draw should be rewarded – absurd. If you are not good enough to be in the top two teams in a pool of five you are an average team at best. BBNZ might think it’s PC, i believe it’s Poppycock and should be scrapped as soon as possible. National Tournaments are about finding the best and providing a pathway for future elite players, not for rewarding mediocrity. What do you think?
LACEY LOWDOWN 