Women at the double in showcase of best

WOMEN'S basketball takes centre stage in Melbourne this weekend as the city hosts four WNBL games.

The highlight of the weekend will be today's double-header at Dandenong Stadium, involving the three leading teams in the WNBL -- Bulleen Melbourne Boomers, Dandenong Rangers and Sydney Uni Flames.
Last night Bulleen hosted Townsville and Dandenong was at home to Sydney Uni, coached by Karen Dalton, who has been involved in the 25 seasons of the WNBL.

Yesterday's events included a coaching clinic run by Opals coach Jan Stirling and Lori Chizik at Box Hill and a referees clinic run by WNBL referee Sharon Arnold at the Sports and Aquatic Centre.

As part of today's events, Olympic stars Belinda Snell, Natalie Porter, Trish Fallon and Allison Tranquilli will present plaques to representatives of the junior basketball associations in Victoria where they started playing the game.

Fans will have the chance to meet their favourite player, pose for a picture or gain an autograph from Opals and WNBL stars.

"It is going to be a fantastic weekend and to have that quality of competition on the floor for people to be able to have a look at is wonderful for our sport," said Stirling, who is guest speaker at a WNBL corporate brunch at Dandenong today.

"The double-header will be terrific and great for the public to see future Opal players playing in the one location in Melbourne.

"I guess our world ranking is testimony to the fact that we do have a strong domestic competition."

Stirling said an incentive for girls to take up the sport was the opportunity to represent Australia and play overseas, as the Rangers did two months ago in the FIBA Women's World League in Russia.

"There are fantastic opportunities for young women and it's terrific that this weekend is going to accelerate the interest in it," she said.

Stirling said yesterday's coaching clinic was aimed at helping coaches from the state's junior associations.

"That is the investment that we have to put in our young players," she said. "They're the stars of the future, so it's really important that coaches share their knowledge and expertise, and that we find out the issues that they're encountering with young players."

VIRGIN Blue has become the WNBL's official airline in a three-year deal announced this week.

The airline recently announced a partnership with the NBL.

Basketball Australia chief executive Scott Derwin said: "Signing with Virgin Blue is a coup for the league. Virgin Blue has already demonstrated its commitment to basketball through its relationship with the NBL and now has extended its partnership to encompass one of the world's top women's professional leagues as well."

Today's matches at Dandenong Stadium: Bulleen v Sydney Uni (noon tip-off), Dandenong v Townsville (2pm).

Most popular searches for O