Q. Child Safety Focussed
A. Donvale Dunkers does their utmost to abide by the Child Safety Standards outlined by MEBA and Basketball Victoria.
All our Volunteers (Committee members, Coaches and Team Managers) have to provide a Working With Children’s Check before starting to volunteer. They also go through Child Safety training course to ensure that all children in our care are well cared for. Any concerns relating to issues of Child Safety must be immediately reported to [email protected]
Q. Who plays for Dunkers?
A. New players – please note that 95% of our players are students at Donvale Christian College. As such we have arranged our training times at the College to start at 3:30pm. It is a pre-requisite that all players train with their team so if a time of 3:30pm doesn’t suit please consider whether Dunkers is for your player. Most of the 3:30-4:30pm training times are taken up by the younger age groups but this changes depending on when the coach of each team wants to train. These times are not always confirmed at the time of registration unfortunately.
REGISTRATION
Q. How does registration work?
A. There are currently two steps to registering. Registering at PlayHQ and paying for the annual insurance fee of $29 and registration fee, and then ordering a uniform on our website if needed. This registration fee covers weekly game sheet fees (venue hire, referee salaries), venue entry fees, coaches gifts and kit supplies, presentation day celebrations, admin costs etc.
Q. Once I register how soon will I hear about my players team and training?
A. The club takes a couple of weeks once registrations have closed to process registrations, putting players into teams based on age, skill level and friendship requests. This is no easy feat! You will be contacted in the rare case that we don’t have a team for your player and receive a full refund early in the process.
Teams and training times are released after the last game of the previous season. You will contacted by the club and then personally by your Team Manager to update you each week on training times, game day venues and times.
Check further down for info on how training days and times are chosen for each team.
Q. What happens if I’m late in registering?
A. Any late registrations made cannot be guaranteed a place on any team. Where there are positions available the committee will consider a request. A late fee may be charged.
Q. What if my child wants to play with their friends?
A. Friend requests are seriously considered but only if that request is reciprocated by their friends. We do our best to ensure that each player has friends in their teams but sometimes this isn’t possible and we ask for your help in working with your child in looking at the positives in making new friends and gaining new skills in the team chosen for them.
Q. How much does each season cost?
A. Your season pass covers the cost of registration, your team’s weekly team sheet fees, coach’s gift, presentation day costs and Basketball Vic fees (insurance)
Update in pricing (as at Feb 2024)
- Basketball Victoria Annual Participant Licence fee – $29
- Club Player Registration Fee – Dependant of MEBA fees each season.
- Admission Fees are now included in upfront fees due to COVID19. This is an additional cost explained on the registration page. UPDATE as from Nov 2020 – door entry fees are not going to be charged this season.
Registration fee may increase from time to time due to higher charges from MEBA or other costs.
In addition to your season fees, you will need to purchase a new club reversible singlet at the price of $60. Shorts are $40.
GENERAL QUESTIONS
Q. What age can my child start playing for Dunkers?
A. We have teams catering for under 8 players to under 18 players. Age 7 is an ideal age to start. We now have an introductory 6 week class – Future Dunkers. This is for students Prep to Grade 2 that have not previously played basketball and would like an introduction, prior to joining a team.
Summer Season – Under the age of the prescribed competition (8,10,12,14,16,18 and 23) on the 30th June in the year in which the season commences.
Winter Season – Under the age of the prescribed competition (8,10,12,14,16,18 and 23) on the 31st December in the year prior to which the competition commences.
Q. When do the seasons run?
A. MEBA seasons coincide with school terms: the winter season runs from April to September (school terms 2 & 3), and the summer season runs from October to March (school terms 4 & 1).
Q. How many players are placed on a team?
A. As few as 6 and as many as 10 but preferably 7-8 players are allocated to teams.
Q. Who will our coach be?
A. Dunkers relies on parent volunteers who have a passion for seeing our players achieve all they can and have fun at the same time. We are always looking for parents to coach and will offer help to anyone who is interested. We have a pathway to develop junior coaches, and at times your team may be assigned a young person we are working with in this way. Please remember to show them the same courtesy you would to another adult in this role as they learn.
Q. What if I have never played before?
A. We have players with varying degrees of skill from beginners to A grade players. Our teams are selected based on skill level, age and friendships and then graded by the association to ensure that everyone gets placed at an appropriate level. From time to time Dunkers runs an introductory program called Future Dunkers, which we would recommend to all new players up to Grade 2 before they started their first season.
Q. What is the club’s uniform, do I have to wear one and how do I get it?
A. Dunkers has compulsory reversible singlet and shorts. The uniform must be worn at all Saturday games. The old style single sided uniform cannot be used for Saturday competitions – please ensure you have a reversible singlet.
Basketball shoes or sturdy sneakers are to be worn during training and games.
Uniform sizes – applies to both singlets and shorts (comparison made with Target t-shirts)
Size 6-8 = 4XS
Size 10 = 3XS
Size 12 = 2XS
Size 14-16 = XS
Small = S
Medium = M
etc
Q. When will I receive my uniform order?
A. We keep a small supply of uniforms in stock. We put an order through 4-6 weeks out from the start of each season. All uniform orders are “backordered”. This just means that we regularly have to order stock in each season to fulfil the orders.
Q. Can I choose a singlet number?
A. No. The club chooses singlet numbers for each player. This ensures that there are few double ups of the same number in each age group.
Q. Photo policy
A. In compliance with MEBA guidelines, Dunkers permits the taking of photos and or videos by family members or coaches for personal use ONLY. Dunkers will use photos within the framework permitted by MEBA outlined below.
For your reference – Photographs taken at MEBA or other basketball events may be published by MEBA but names or other identification of the persons in the photographs will not be published without consent unless the person is a known public figure.
As a courtesy, the coach or manager of the players team and or opposition team should also be notified of the intention to photograph or video a game.
Before posting any images online please ask for permission from each parent of each player.
Q.What size basketball do I need?
A. Kids will need to provide their own basketball – bought cheaply at Rebel or Sportsmart for example.
UNDER 8: Ball Size: 5 (Boys and Girls)
UNDER 10: Ball Size: 5 (Boys and Girls)
UNDER 12: Ball Size: 6 (Boys and Girls)
UNDER 14: Ball Size: 6 (Boys and Girls)
UNDER 16 +: Ball Size: 6 (Girls) & 7 (Boys)
Q. What does Dunkers expect from their players?
A. We expect our players to show commitment to their team by attending training regularly and turning up reliably for games at least 10 minutes prior to starting time. Apart from illness, injury or an occasional special event, players are expected to be available for all games and training, and to advise their coach and team manager in advance if they cannot play or attend training for any reason.
Please also check out our Players Code of Conduct
Q. What does Dunkers expect from their parents, guardians or carers?
A. Remember this is a game with kids – please respect the players, referees, volunteers and other parents. All parents are expected to help out with scoring as this is a shared reponsibility – the Team Manager will allocate the dates and it’s up to the parents to organise replacements if they are unable to help on their allocated day. Don’t know how to score? Please sit with another experienced parent before your allocated day and I’m sure they’ll be happy to explain the process. It can be quite daunting the first time you score, but it gets easier, we promise!
Please also check out our Parents Code of Conduct
TRAINING
Q. Where do you train?
A. Donvale Christian College Gym. 155 Tindals Road Donvale – Enter via gate 1
Please note that some training sessions may be cancelled due to Donvale Christian College using the gym for school use.
Q. When is training? and Why that day?
A. Monday & Tuesday from 3:30-9:30pm – 1 hour training sessions. We hire court space from Donvale Christian College.
Training nights are allocated by the club in response to coaches’ requests. Your training day may not be able to be advised until teams and coaches are finalised for the season. Please be understanding that teams cannot be rearranged due to a player’s unavailability for a particular day.
Q. Parents at Training
A. It is expected that parents of players U10 and under are expected to attend all training sessions. If you can’t attend training you should organise with another parent on the team to be responsible for your child for the duration of training. This is in order to be a help to the coach regarding player’s behaviours.
Q. First Aid
A. It is not expected for any of our volunteers to have first aid training. Every Coach is provided with a basic first aid kit which will cover minor abrasions and bumps and bruises. It is expected that for any serious injuries that an Ambulance will be called.
GAME DAYS
Q. What times are the games played on Saturdays?
A. Games are scheduled on Saturdays at 45-minute intervals from 8:15 am to 9:00 pm. For the younger age groups, U8-U12, about 70% of games are morning games, starting between 8:15 am and 12:00 am. For these age groups, it’s rare to have a game at 3:10 pm or later, but they do happen. Older age groups (U16 and up) can be expected to play at least 1-3 late games per season, 7:20 pm or later.
Factors that influence the fixturing of games include coaches who also play and coaches who coach multiple teams. To avoid clashes, game times can often go outside of the typical range. Even if this is not applicable to your team, it could be for some of the teams that you play against.
Q. Where are Saturday games played?
| N | NUNAWADING BASKETBALL CENTRE | Burwood Highway, East Burwood | Map 62 Ref C7 |
| R | THE RINGS | Canterbury Road, Ringwood | Map 63 Ref E1 |
| SAL | EVA BURROWS COLLEGE, THE SALVATION ARMY | 100 Maidstone St, Ringwood | Map 63 Ref G1 |
| FH | FOREST HILL SEC. COLLEGE | Mahoneys Road, East Burwood | Map 62 Ref C5 |
| KS | KNOX SCHOOL | 220 Burwood Highway, Wantirna South | Map 63 Ref E8 |
| M | MULLAUNA SEC. COLLEGE | Tirana Street, Mitcham | Map 48 Ref J6 |
| V | VERMONT PRIMARY SCHOOL | Nurlendi Road, Vermont | Map 62 Ref K3 |
| B | BRENTWOOD SEC COLLEGE | 65-71 Watsons Rd, Glen Waverley | Map 71 Ref D7 |
| H | HUNTINGTOWER SCHOOL | 77 Waimarie Dr, Mount Waverley | Map 70 Ref G1 |
| MG | MULGRAVE COLLEGE | 23-31 Gladeswood Dr, Mulgrave | Map 81 Ref A4 |
| SPL | SPORTLINK CENTRE | 2 Hanover Road, Vermont South | Map 62 Ref G7 |
| W | WESLEY COLLEGE | 620 High Street Road, Glen Waverley | Map 62 Ref A12 |
Q. What are grading games?
A. The first 1-6 rounds (games) are grading games and during this time you may see your team move up or down grades within their age group depending on how the team is playing.
Q. Who do I contact if I have more questions?
A. Please feel free to email us [email protected] . Once you have been allocated a team your team manager will be a great reference for you.