The number of junior teams has doubled for the upcoming summer season compared to the winter competition, women’s senior teams are well up and the men are maintaining numbers in a surge that has produced a headache for organisers scheduling games.

Orange District Basketball Association competition co-ordinator Carmen Dederer said “it’s bigger than it has been in the last 15 years.”

She added games were played over two nights at the PCYC but, with so many teams they needed more.

“We really need to secure another night at PCYC. The schools’ courts are not up to the standard,” she said.

Dederer said numbers were up, “massively, in the junior competition it is almost double.”

She said they had 42 junior teams of eight players signed up and had enough for another five teams from potential players who attended a sign-on day on Tuesday.

That would equate to nearly 400 players. Last season, which finished a few weeks ago, there were 25 teams with about 200 players.

Mrs Dederer said last season there were two divisions for high school players, one for girls and one for boys.

“This season there is going to be at least eight divisions in the high school competition. In the primary school it has grown, but probably not so much,” she said.

“The growth is surprising. It’s probably getting close to be on par with the late 1990s-early 2000s. Early 90s, basketball was huge, we are not quite at that level.”

Mrs Dederer said the success of the Australian Boomers and the Opals at the Olympic Games was a factor in driving local interest in the sport from young players.

“But I’d say a lot of it is the number of Australians legitimately playing in the NBA (America’s National Basketball Association) this year. And they are not just making up the roster.”

There are eight Aussies in the NBA this year including Andrew Bogut (Dallas Mavericks), Matthew Dellavedova (Milwaukee Bucks), Thon Maker (Milwaukee Bucks), top draft pick Ben Simmons (Philadelphia 76ers) and Patrick Mills (San Antonio Spurs). 

Dederer believes the success of Orange schools in the past year has also added to the influx.

“Canobalos High School boys were in the top eight of Combined High Schools for the second year, Calare made the final of the Western Region PSSA and the Catholic schools teams did alright,” Dederer added,

The new season has also been boosted by the addition of five teams of girls and seven teams of boys from Kinross Wolaroi school. That is also more teams than were entered from that school for the last summer season.

The summer season runs over school terms four and one. It starts on Monday night with men’s and women’s games from 5.10pm.

Tuesday is juniors night starting with a skills session, largely for under 10s from 4.30pm.

It will also feature an elite under 20 Super League competition where players are invited or can nominate and be selected to play.

But with the massive numbers the last games won’t be starting until 9.20pm on Monday and around 8pm on Tuesday night. “We are trying to get another night so the games aren't on so late,” Dederer said.