Basketball Ireland defends Ballina switch decision

BASKETBALL Ireland last night defended the decision to place Ballina Team Merry Monk in the Southern conference of the SuperLeague.

Mayo club officials are furious with the development and claim that the financial costs incurred may force the side to collapse.

However national chiefs last night stressed that a full consultative process with all the clubs in the league was followed before any decision was made.

“We would like to state that we are reluctantly providing comment on this issue before the appeal process is final. However, we do feel it necessary because the Ballina Club initiated contact with a number of media outlets, and believe that the view of the SuperLeague should be made known.

“While this decision was made by the SuperLeague Men's Board (SLMB), the recommendation of the Organisation of SuperLeague Clubs (OSC) was taken into account.

“All clubs in the SuperLeague are represented on this Board, including Ballina. Decisions such as this are generally made in a consultative manner with the OSC.

“It is not the case that Basketball Ireland or the SLMB dictate such policies. The decision was made by considering what is the best solution for the entire league, and the sport in general, and not any one entity in the league. The SuperLeague board preferred to stick with the conference system which they feel has achieved its objectives and requires further time to continue the development of the SuperLeague.

“As a result of Ballina’s dissatisfaction of the decision, the SuperLeague manager and two board members met with three representatives from Ballina on Monday July 23rd and explained the position of the SLMB. At that meeting a number of possible avenues were explored, so the board are disappointed the club felt it necessary to issue such a release to the media, especially in advance of the appeal hearing.”

The statement noted that: “Ballina’s preferred option was to return to a straight league format, the travel differential between a straight league and Ballina participating in a conference with last season’s Southern Conference teams is: a reduction in distance of 340km and reduction in time of seven hours; one additional trip to Cork and Limerick; three less trips to Dublin.

“The travel differential from this season to last season for Ballina equates to an increase in distance of 614km and an increase in time of 3 ½ hours (based on the 2007-08 draft fixtures that have been issued to all SuperLeague teams and travel analysis from the AA website).

“The SLMB greatly value the role Ballina have played in the SuperLeague since entering three seasons ago, and look forward to working with the Ballina club to find a resolution to their predicament.”