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BIRMINGHAM ATHLETICS |
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Page contents: |
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| League Record | Honours | Venue | Facilities | History | Roster | Competition Record |
| LEAGUE RECORD: | ||||||
| EBL Division 2: | 2005-2008 | P. 66 | W. 36 | L. 40 | Best: 3rd, 2008 | |
| EBL Division 3: | 2004-2005 | P. 16 | W. 14 | L. 2 | Runners-up, EBL3 West, 2005 | |
| HONOURS: | ||
| Runners-up, EBL3 West | 2005 | |
| EBL Shield Winners | 2005 | |
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ASTON UNIVERSITY Tel: 0121 ?
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A previous Aston team entered NBL Division 2 in 1996, but a year later they moved to Kings Heath and became Wolverhampton, and a year later still they merged with Solihull (ex-Worcester) Chiefs, who withdrew from the League a year after that.
The new Aston Athletics entered EBL3 in 2004, using the Aston Event Centre which had been vacated by the Birmingham Bullets at the start of the 2003-4 season.
An excellent first season saw them lift the Men's Shield and finish second in EBL3 West, but only on countback in games against winners Plymouth II. They also reached the semi-finals of the EBL3 Play-offs. and promotion to EBL Division II followed.
The team relocated, from Aston Event Centre to Birmingham Sports Centre in 2006, and, following the demise of Birmingham Bullets, the club changed its name to Birmingham Athletics to reflect its status as the League team representing that city.
The fates appeared to conspire against them at the start of the 2007-8 season, as first a new Birmingham team appeared in the BBL, and then their proposed return to the Aston Event Centre fell through when it was judged to be unsafe on Health and Safety grounds. The team struggled in the early stages of the season, finishing last in their Patron's Cup Pool, and their prospects did not look good. However, once the league season began their form improved, and they hovered around the edge of the top four throughout the campaign until a late strong run took them to a best-ever third place finish.
2008-9: Roster:
Names in bold have signed or re-signed for new season.
New signings are in green.
Names in red have departed.
| PLAYER | Position | Height | ||
| Kenly BAILEY | Forward/Centre | 2007 | ||
| Stephen BARNES | Centre | |||
| Alan BEAN | Forward/Centre | |||
| Ian BUCHANAN | Forward | 2007 | ||
| Steve FOSTER | Centre | From Aston II | ||
| Jason GORDON (c) | Guard/Forward | |||
| Steven HANSELL | Guard/Forward | 2007 | ||
| Chris HARRIS | Guard | 2007 | ||
| Mark JONES | Forward | From Mansfield, 2006 | ||
| Joel MADOURIE | Forward | 2006 | ||
| Phillipe MARCHELEWICZ | Forward | 2006 | ||
| Penny MASON | Guard | From Aston II | ||
| Francais Benjamin MOTT | Centre | 2007 | ||
| Simon SMITH | Guard | |||
| Mike WALROND | Forward/Centre | 2006 | ||
| Stephen BARNES | Coach | |||
| Nigel HANSON | Ass. Coach |
ALL-TIME COMPETITION RECORD
| SEASON | LEAGUE | CUP | CHAMPS. | PATRON'S | SHIELD | NAME | ||||||
| Div. | Pos. | / | P. | W. | NR | L. | ||||||
| 2004-05 | EBL3 W | 2 | / 9 | 16 | 14 | 2 | 2nd Round | Semi Final | x | Winners | Aston Athletics | |
| 2005-06 | EBL2 | 7 | /12 | 22 | 10 | 12 | 2nd Round | 1/4 Final | 2nd Pool | x | Aston Athletics | |
| 2006-07 | EBL2 | 7 | /12 | 22 | 11 | 11 | 1st Round | Semi Final | 3rd Pool | x | Birmingham Athletics | |
| 2007-08 | EBL2 | 3 | /12 | 22 | 15 | 7 | 2nd Round | 6 of 6 Pool | x | Birmingham Athletics | ||
| 2008-09 | EBL2 | Birmingham Athletics | ||||||||||
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| LEAGUE RECORD: | ||||||
| EBL Division 3: | 2005-2006; | P. 18 | W. 4 | L. 14 | ||
| EBL Division 4: | 2008- | P. | W. | L. | ||
With promotion of the Athletics to EBL 2, and the merger with the City of Birmingham club, which runs a full range of development teams, Aston entered a second team, into EBL3, to be coached by club directors (and previous coaches of the first team) Elaine Gordon and Nigel Hanson.
The second team withdrew from the League, to enable the club to concentrate on youth development work, after one season.
Re-entered (Division 4) in 2008.
2008-9 Roster:
Names in bold have signed for the coming season.
| PLAYER | Position | Height | ||
| Steve FOSTER | ||||
| Craig STRICKLAND | ||||
| MASON | ||||
| Elaine GORDON | Coach | |||
| Nigel HANSON | Ass Coach |