National basketball 'hoops in parks' pilot to be trialled in Flaxmere, Hastings

The half-court and hoop in William Nelson Park, which were installed last April, have proved to be popular, Hastings District Council says. Photo / Supplied

In a first for the country, Hastings District Council is trialling an initiative to install more basketball hoops in the district.

The council partnered with Basketball New Zealand, Basketball Hawke's Bay and Sport Hawke's Bay for the Hoops in Parks project - an extension of Basketball New Zealand's Hoops in Schools programme, which aims to address the lack of suitable facilities and support the growth of basketball by placing more hoops in schools.

So far, Tamatea High School, Mayfair School and Kimi Ora Community School have received hoops through the initiative.

Basketball NZ manager basketball development and technology Daniel Dawick said they wanted to look at other ways to provide more hoops and the pilot would help to show other regions that having the facilities in parks "make a big difference and investing in these is a no-brainer".

There are currently basketball hoops available in eight parks in the Hastings district: three in Flaxmere, three in Hastings, one in Whakatū and one in Haumoana.

Most recently, a full court was put into Kirkpatrick Park and a half-basketball court into William Nelson Park. Both are popular and well used, the council says.

The pilot will focus on Flaxmere, beginning with the proposed upgrade from a half court to full court at Len Harlen Park then the aim is to install two new full courts and one half-court in three Flaxmere locations in the next six months.

Hastings District Council public spaces planning manager Rachel Stuart said the pilot programme would ill be centred in Flaxmere since new courts were recently provided in Hastings, and Flaxmere and Flaxmere West community plans identified new sport facilities and equipment were needed in the area.

While the pilot project is proposed to initially concentrate on Flaxmere, if successful it could be rolled out to other communities, including Hastings' rural communities.

Funding for the pilot programme will be secured through fundraising and sponsorship opportunities.

"It's really important that the community tells us where they would like the courts to go, and we've had ideas ranging from Flaxmere Park to Chatham and Kingsley Parks," Stuart said.

• The public can give feedback online at www.myvoicemychoice.co.nz or at the Flaxmere Community Centre.