Hoops in Parks

“Hoops in Parks” is a pilot programme being run in Hastings – an extension to Basketball New Zealand’s “Hoops in Schools” programme. 

There are currently basketball hoops available in eight parks in Hastings district – three in Flaxmere, three in Hastings, one in Whakatu and one in Haumoana. 

Most recently a full basketball court was put into Kirkpatrick Park and a half-basketball court in William Nelson Park – both of which are very popular and well used.

The first park to receive a new court is Len Harlen Park where we’ll be upgrading the existing court to a new full court and then work towards getting two more courts into Flaxmere parks. Funding for the pilot programme will be secured through fundraising and sponsorship opportunities.

Community Consultation

The idea was initially pitched to the community at last month’s inaugural Flaxmere Night Market where it received rousing support.

The community were asked which parks they would most like them to be in as well as what other facilities they would like to see at the courts.

A big thank you to everyone who voted for the park in Flaxmere where they would like basketball courts, as part of the new ‘Hoops in Parks’ initiative.

We received almost 200 votes, with 40% voting for Flaxmere Park as the next park they would like to see some community hoops in.  This is consistent with community feedback on the Flaxmere Park Reserve Management Plan.  Other parks that were popular were Lochain, Ron Giorgi 2 and Kingsley with about 10% of the votes each.   

The community also told us that access to seating, water and bins near the new courts was important as well as some shade for spectators. 

We’ve also received some fantastic ideas about how the community would like to use the new courts to encourage greater participation in the sport and to stay active