Harper Sercombe
The Roxburgh Park magpies basketball club has been a staple of the area since 1997, however it almost all came crashing down only five years ago.
In 2018 the club was $13,000 in debt for amenities such as court hire and uniforms and the club could only field six teams with the 60 kids they had.
Seeing the club in disarray committee members Sam Abbas and Helen Halwani decided to take on bigger responsibilities, and were made president and treasurer respectively.
Now the club is in a strong position on and off the court.
“We now have 21 teams and over 200 kids,” Mrs Halwani said.
“We now have a $30,000 surplus.
“And we only had one all girls team and now we have over six.”
All money raised is being reinvested back into the club.
“We have purchased all coaches, coaching whiteboards, all new balls, and we had a family dinner night all paid for by the club,” she said.
Mrs Halwani said she is steadfast on making the club a positive and inclusive environment.
The Magpie’s mantra is about making the club a “family environment,” with many of their players going to watch each other play, Mrs Halwani said.
“We want to let the kids play fairly and have fun, it’s all about having fun,” she said.
“We’re here to protect our kids at the club, we’re a multicultural club.
