10/10/06 As is the usual way with such matters, the e-mail from EB is terse and to the point: "we have received notification that Brixton Lady Topcats has withdrawn from the Division One Women’s competitions for the forthcoming season." That statement, though, hardly does justice to the impact of the loss in a pre-season during which we've already lost men's teams of the stature of Kingston and Team Bath (not to mention Birmingham, Brighton and London Towers from the BBL). Not only is Women's Division 1 diminished numerically, as it finds itself reduced to just nine teams, at a time when the forward-plan had projected that it would be up to eleven, but the quality of competition is bound to suffer. We had already lost Stockport, who finished sixth last season, when they dropped down into Division 2, and now the seventh placed team has also gone. With three of the remaining teams having lost to established opponents by an average of 75 points last weekend, the prospects for a competitive season in this division are looking increasingly bleak. It's also a huge shame for Brixton themselves. Relying heavily on locally developed talent, the Topcats (men and women) have been league stalwarts for over twenty years. Entering in 1985, the women finished as runners-up in Division 2 in their first season, and won immediate promotion to Division 1. They more than held their own, despite this rapid elevation, and within two years they finished in fourth place, and made a Cup Final appearance in 1990. However, after six seasons they finished last, in 1992, and suffered relegation, but bounced straight back up, as Division Two Champions, in '93. Relegated again in '94, they finished seventh out of ten in 1995, pulled out of the League for six years. Re-entering (Division 2 South) in 2001, they enjoyed three steady seasons in mid-table, before regaining a place in Division 1 in 2004, winning the South-east Regional Qualifying League in the restructuring process. I sincerely hope that their absence this time will be considerably shorter.
Meanwhile, from a relatively short distance up the M1/M6 came another brief statement: "Effective immediately Aston Athletics have changed their name to the Birmingham Athletics." This may seem a minor matter, but it has far-reaching implications. With the demise of Birmingham Bullets, Aston were left as the only representatives of that city in men's senior competition. Having already decided to move to Birmingham Sports Centre as their main home venue, the Athletics clearly feel that it is now time to attract the support base (and, I suspect, the potential funding!) that being the overt representatives of the whole city should bring. We'd like to wish them all the luck they need. Not only does Birmingham need, and deserve, good quality basketball, but the game itself needs a strong presence in such an important city!
|
|