About the WMBA

Growing and developing was the mantra of the WMBA board for the next ten years. The introduction of great programs such as Steve Nash Youth Basketball and the "Training Day" for grassroots coaches, as well as solid concepts such as fair play and zero-tolerance policies, are strong examples of initiatives the WMBA board implemented to promote and enhance the experience of players, coaches, and parents. In collaboration with Basketball Manitoba, the Training Day coaches clinic soon developed into the Super Coaches Clinic, which became the largest coaches clinic in the country. Every fall, the Super Coaches Clinic remains a landmark opportunity for local coaches of all youth basketball levels. 

In 2007, FIBA rules were adopted by the country's governing bodies of basketball. The WMBA also adopted these rules for our leagues with appropriate modifications to suit youth skills and abilities.

In 2008, the WMBA Foundation announced the award of the third outdoor basketball court to the Dakota Community Club. The court was completed and opened officially in August of 2009. To meet the demands of the competitive club basketball development, the Rising Stars League was also developed for ages 12-15 in 2008. The popularity of this league necessitated the introduction of the qualifying tournament for the 2009 fall season. 

In 2009, the recurring theme and discussion at most board meeting was; "How can the WMBA attract participants at the youngest age groups and maintain them year after year. There were great concepts such as Hoopfest, the Christmas Wesmen Classic Tournament; however, we wanted to grow our number of athletes in our leagues.

In 2010, the WMBA secured its first corporate sponsor to offer youth basketball leagues to the introductory ages 5-7 years at a significantly reduced fee. Denny's Restaurants was our title sponsor for the youth basketball programs. In cooperation with our member community clubs, this subsidy initiative has proved very successful for the 5-7 year old divisions for many years. We considered this initiative for families to provide affordable playing opportunities while introducing their children to our great game. As part of the league's mandate to increase and provide quality programming, we ventured forward to deliver pilot projects based on the new 3x3 concept. The first was a 3-on-3 league for 6-8 year olds, where the available court time and the ability for coaches to instruct athletes increased significantly. The second initiative was a 3x3 summer league on the WMBA Foundation's outdoor courts for boys and girls between 15 and 18 years. 

In 2011, the Community Wesman Classic Tournament had run its course with the loss of the title sponsor and the subsequent loss of support from the hosting facility and in 2012, the league rebranded with the "Winnipeg Sun 3-on-3 Classic Tournament". The tournament was based on the 3x3 play format emulating the future Olympic sport. 

Through the growth of the league over the years and the number of teams competing for practice gym time, issues became apparent not so much for the gameplay; however, for practice times for all teams. Many discussions regarding the requirements associated with Sport Canada's Long Term Athlete Development model. The league's community club convenors and league coordinators worked tirelessly to build teams across clubs and share gym times as best as possible. 

By 2012, numerous new community club gymnasiums had been developed in the city, and the practice time pressures were alleviated; these quality venues were also utilized as game-day facilities. However, we noticed a decline in girls' participation in the league. 

In 2013, we welcomed Suki Choeun to the board as the Director of Women's Programming. The "Girls Can Play" initiative successfully attracted 190 participants to well-organized fun-based skill camps. Of the 190 girls attending these camps, 150 were first-time participants in basketball. The WMBA also moved forward with a new program for 5-7 year old boys and girls this same year. The Jr.NBA program was a 12-week skill and fun-based development camp that followed the Canada Sport for Life guidelines and Canada Basketball athlete development pathways. The first-year pilot had four community clubs run the program for 80 athletes. The NBA facilities a separate coaches clinic for all coaches involved with the program. These great programs carried on for numerous years. 

2014 saw the installation of the final court in the WMBA Foundation mandate to provide one facility in each of our six districts started approximately 12 years previous. It is an excellent achievement of the WMBA Foundation to see through the installation of one of these outstanding outdoor facilities in each of our original Districts. Installations were provided to the following community centres that have been the benefactors of this program. Garden Ciry Community Club, Whyte Ridge Community Club, Dakota Community Club, Kirkfield Westwood Community Club, Oxford Heights Community Club, Corydon Community Centre. 

2015 and 2016 maintained th provision of great programming as noted above. The elite arm of the league rebranded from Rising Stars to the Manitoba Basketball League, attracting 29 teams in its first season.