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Loxton basketball doco scores on international stage

A documentary celebrating a real Australian “have a go” approach that led to the formation of a Riverland basketball club has been launched on the international stage.

Sep 18, 2024, updated Sep 19, 2024
There are plenty of juniors coming through the club. Photo: Grant Schwartzkopff

There are plenty of juniors coming through the club. Photo: Grant Schwartzkopff

“Loxton Basketball: 70 Years”, a documentary made by Adelaide-based Six Foot Four Productions, recently launched on Amazon Prime Video in the United Kingdom and United States and was followed by Australia last week.

Riverland born and bred producer/director John deCaux said he was initially approached in 2019 to make a short, low-budget production to celebrate Loxton Amateur Basketball Association’s 70th anniversary.

However, he soon uncovered a great Aussie story behind the club’s formation.

“In 1949, two Riverland blokes – Merv Bartsch and Esmond Sior – started the club. Esmond had a subscription to an American sports magazine,” John said.

“In that magazine, there was a picture of an American basketball game – it was literally just a photo of a guy free-throwing – and they thought it looked cool so they got together to see what they could do about bringing the sport to Loxton.”

Merv Bartsch and Esmond Sior founders of Loxton Basketball Club. Photo: Supplied

The pair found a location – inside the local show hall, with a half concrete, half wooden floor – and stuck a piece of plywood behind a netball ring to make a backboard.

“The rings were right up against the wall, so they would open the doors at each end of the hall so when they did a lay-up they could run outside and not run into the wall,” John said.

“They didn’t know the rules for the first year, so they just made them up.

“Then they wrote to West Adelaide basketball club and they sent them a rule book for the second year, and it took off from there.

“It was a story that really resonated with me, a real Aussie tale of just having a go and making it happen.”

Founders Merv and Esmond belonged to the local motorcycle and cycling clubs, and between them they drummed up support from within those clubs to form basketball teams.

Greg Coombs is a long-time supporter of Loxton basketball as a former club and representative player and was involved in some of the research for the 70th anniversary reunion and documentary.

He said the club was initially known as the Loxton Men’s Basketball Club, changing in 1962 to the Loxton Amateur Basketball Association.

In 1956-57, women joined and by 1962 there were six A-grade women’s teams and six A-grade men’s teams.

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“In 1952, Loxton became affiliated with the SA Men’s Basketball Association, and they held an inaugural Country Championships,” Greg said.

“Loxton entered two teams and they ended up playing off in a Grand Final against each other.

“Loxton won eight SA Country Championships between 1952 and 1961, with the women coming in in 1960 and they won the championship that same year.”

The club remains strong today, and Greg said just prior to Covid there were 383 members, making it the second largest country club in the state.

“Numbers are slightly lower this year compared to last year, but predominantly we’ve had very strong numbers and there are plenty of juniors coming through with 42 kids under 12 playing basketball for Loxton,” he said.

Behind its success, Greg says number one is pride, followed by community and local business support and passionate, hardworking club members who have always shown a resourcefulness to grow the game.

“An example is when Angas Park was huge in this area, they had these big sweat boxes to store their dried sultanas and apricots and they donated the sweat boxes to make grandstands for people to come and sit and watch the finals,” he said.

“It’s been that kind of support, and collectively the community embraced basketball, that’s reflective of where we are now as a club.

“But I think what stands out and makes the club special is pride.

“Most clubs have passion, but I think what has made it successful here is a large volume of people who have an interest and want to see the club maintain its success both on and off the court.”

From humble beginnings to screens around the world, Loxton basketball continues to shine and Greg said he was proud to see the documentary shine a spotlight on the town’s amazing club.

“I’m super proud to be part of the community and Loxton basketball club,” he said.

“It’s just a small drop in the ocean, but it’s just amazing.

“I watched the documentary again this morning and it still gives me goosebumps.”

The “Loxton Basketball: 70 Years” documentary was partly funded by Regional Arts, Country Arts SA, and The District Council of Loxton Waikerie.

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