36ers Community Visit to Kangaroo Island

After the devasting bushfires tore through Kangaroo Island earlier this year the community has spent the last six months slowly rebuilding.

Last week we headed over to Kangaroo Island ahead of our pre-season start. A big thank you to SeaLink Kangaroo Island for getting us to the island and to Australian Motors Mitsubishi for moving us around. Coach Conner Henry and Lead Assistant Jamie Pearlman led the Adelaide 36ers players who headed over which included Daniel Johnson, Jack McVeigh, Alex Mudronja, Brendan Teys and development players Zac Gattorna and Michael Harris.

One of our NBL21 home games will be dedicated to raising money for junior members of the Kangaroo Island Basketball Association, children ranging from 5 to 17 years old. Money raised will give the kids the opportunity to travel and compete in basketball carnivals across South Australia.

We believe it is important for our players to visit and interact with schools and the community. With sport being such a big part of the Kangaroo Island community, our club is passionate about supporting junior participation so sport, especially basketball, can continue to thrive.

The first stop on our journey was for a clinic at Parndana Area School (Reception – Year 10) where our players took on a Parndana team in a full-court game. Half-time saw the Junior Primary kids shine in some competitive relays before the game resumed. The 36ers flew out of the blocks in the second half, so to even the contest Coach Conner called 'last goal wins'.  After a couple of solid attemps at the Parndana end, the 36ers were able to get the ball to the other end of the court and seal victory. A signing session for the whole school followed.

Results aside, everyone involved had a great time. Many of the kids selected to participate have had their lives directly impacted by the fires so to see smiles on their faces was a huge gift.

From Parndana, the team travelled to Kingscote where along with the Kangaroo Island Basketball Association they ran a clinic for the wider community with kids aged 7 – 16 years old.

The day concluded with a beautiful island sunset before boarding the ferry back to Adelaide.

We look forward to sharing more information with you about our fundraiser for KIBA Junior Basketball incoming months.