Bounce Court project in Indulkana

Bounce Court project in Indulkana

We spent time down in Indulkana and Mimali in Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) lands last week as part of our Bounce Courts innovation project building a full basketball court and a community gym. The innovative court projects use an innovative lightweight concrete panel system with partners Taupanel to deliver a low cost and immediate impact basketball court with installation possible within a few days. The Bounce Court innovation project uses an innovative lightweight concrete panel system made up of more than 130 panels, attached to a steel tube framework to adjust the court to the rough ground. The low cost pre-fabricated court developed as part of the Bounce Court’s project of Charity Bounce is made up of over 130 lightweight concrete panels with benefits including reduced heat absorption, sprung floor feel for reduced impact on players, and a pre painted design to create a basketball court ready for action as soon as it is laid.

 

The court will be officially opened later in the year with local coaches set to deliver programs as part of the Stand Tall Coaches initiative. Three coaches from Indulkana were recently in Alice Springs with International Coach Rob Beveridge and Adelaide 36ers player Kevin White to train the coaches and deliver community programs. Rob Beveridge is an Internationally recognised coach and along with NBL player Kevin White applied his skills to support the Indigenous Coaches as part of the new Charity Bounce Stand Tall Coaches initiative. The project links in with the Bounce Courts innovation project delivering low cost basketball courts in remote communities, including a 3×3 court now established in Nyewente and the full court installed in Indulkana.

 

The Stand Tall Coaching initiative aims to train up local coaches from these remote communities and equip and employ them to deliver strength based basketball programs on the courts built through the Bounce Court innovation project. The coaches will be employed in their own communities and connect the Bounce Courts Innovation projects with on the ground programs to utilise the courts that have been built in these remote communities for education and employment focussed outcomes.

 

Working with partners to deliver the project, a big thanks goes out to Taupanel and the project team that spent the week in APY Lands to deliver the basketball court and gym projects, as well as Marika Marsland from the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet (PM&C).  PM&C worked on the project with Indulkana School, Charity Bounce and local youth services provider Uniting Country SA over two years, with the Department contributing to the project. Lots of great partners contributed to the project, including the SA Department of Planning and Infrastructure (DPTI), together with Lucas TCS who donated road base and use of a grader to level the site prior to construction. Local power provider Cowell Electrical donated a lighting bracket, free installation, and supplied lighting at cost price for the court, with the SA Department for Energy and Mining approving the court lighting to be connected to the communities’ power grid. Dave from Balnaves also gets a special mention helping load panels from dawn to dusk and ensure the concrete base for the backboards was ready for the backboard installation to now happen in the coming weeks and complete the court ready for use.