One Year of No Competitive Play – A letter

Dear basketballscotland community,

It’s incredible to think that it’s now a year since our sport made the decision to cancel our basketball play-off games as the number of COVID-19 cases rose in Scotland. We were one of the first sports in Scotland to make the decision to stop playing, without waiting for official instruction from the Scottish Government. We did it for the right reasons: to keep our basketball communities safe, and mindful of the connectedness of our clubs with the wider communities we live in. At the time, we could not have foreseen such a lengthy shutdown of competitive games and training.

We know that the toll on individuals and communities has been considerable. But could we have foreseen the strength, togetherness and resilience that we’ve demonstrated as a community throughout the last year? Perhaps. None the less, it has still been wonderful to be a part of, and it emphasises the importance of character, culture and community when it comes to being part of a sport such as ours, which always seeks to have a positive influence on individual lives.

As we finally see the end of the pandemic tantalisingly in sight, I know that we will continue to play our part in doing the right things to see this pandemic through to the final buzzer: social distancing, cleanliness, masks, testing, and, of course, accepting the vaccine when it’s offered to us. On behalf of basketballscotland, thank you for all that you’ve done and all that you continue to do.

We can’t wait to see you again at training and at games, hopefully in the near future. Our staff will continue to keep you posted on changes as soon as possible after they have been announced.

Take care of yourselves and each other,

Stephen Ferguson

Acting Chair, Equality Champion and Communications Director