Norths Bears is a NBL1 East club based in Sydney, New South Wales. The club fields a team in both the Men's and Women's NBL1 East. The club is a division of Northern Suburbs Basketball Association (NSBA), the major administrative basketball organisation in North Sydney. The Bears play their home games at North Sydney Indoor Sports Centre.
| Norths Bears | |
|---|---|
| Leagues | NBL1 East |
| Founded | 1991 |
| History | Norths Bears 1991–present |
| Arena | North Sydney Indoor Sports Centre |
| Location | Crows Nest, New South Wales |
| Team colors | Red and white |
| CEO | Bret Mactavish |
| President | Vik Kortian |
| Vice-president(s) | Craig Kesby |
| Championships | 3 (2012, 2014, 2017) (M) 3 (2018, 2020, 2023) (W) |
| Website | nsba.com.au |
Club history edit
Northern Suburbs Basketball Association (NSBA) was founded in the early 1980s.[1] The association's representative teams, the Norths Bears, competed in the New South Wales Premier Division, which began in 1991.[2] The women's team were runners-up in 2000,[2] and with the rebrand to Waratah League in 2001,[3] the team went on to claim three straight runners-up finishes with Waratah League grand final appearances in 2001 and 2002.[2] The men's team also had back-to-back grand final appearances in 2001 and 2002 under coach Rob Beveridge.[4]
In 2012, the men's team won their first Waratah League championship.[2] They went on to claim titles in 2014[5] and 2017.[6] The women's team finished runners-up in 2017.[6] In 2018, the men's team finished runners-up while the women's team claimed their first championship.[7] The women's team won their second championship in 2020.[8]
The Waratah League rebranded to NBL1 East in 2022,[3] with the Bears women going on to win the 2023 NBL1 East championship.[9][10] The team went on to reach the championship game of the 2023 NBL1 National Finals, where they lost to the Bendigo Braves.[11]
References edit
- ^ "About Us". nsba.com.au. Archived from the original on 5 March 2024.
- ^ a b c d "History". Waratah Basketball League. Archived from the original on 5 March 2024.
- ^ a b Badkin, Liam (2 November 2021). "NBL1 East Team Introduction – Norths Bears". central.rookieme.com. Archived from the original on 5 March 2024.
- ^ "Bevo to lead Pigs". NBL.com.au. 14 March 2007. Archived from the original on 13 September 2007. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
- ^ "Bears Take Out Men's Waratah Title". Norths Basketball Association. 1 September 2014. Archived from the original on 5 March 2024.
- ^ a b "2017 Molten Waratah League Champions". bnsw.com.au. 14 August 2017. Archived from the original on 5 March 2024.
- ^ "2018 Spalding Waratah Senior League Finals Weekend Score Recap". bnsw.com.au. 20 August 2018. Archived from the original on 5 March 2024.
- ^ "Australian Lower Divisions (2020)". australiabasket.com. Archived from the original on 5 March 2024.
- ^ "Norths Bears crowned NBL1 East women's champions". NBL1.com.au. 12 August 2023. Archived from the original on 13 August 2023. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
- ^ "NBL1 East Recap | Women's Grand Final 2023". NBL1.com.au. 12 August 2023. Archived from the original on 13 August 2023. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
- ^ "NBL1 National Finals Recap | Women's Championship Game 2023". NBL1.com.au. 20 August 2023. Archived from the original on 20 August 2023.