BIT Origins
During a conversation (Probably in the pub) between Trev White and Ron Allen, the Bulldogs Coach, the subject of what the school players would do after leaving school. A number of points were raised:
- School players were unaware of Club basketball
- The loss of these players was a loss to basketball
- Therefore most school players were lost to the game
- Crucially, the question was posed “What can we do about that?”
Eventually, over the passing weeks, we decided to put something back into the game and advertise the presence of a local club side. It was envisaged that it would be an annual tournament, include players from year 11 and below, with ‘All must play’ rules. Why a mix of player ages? School competitions are based on the school year and possibly those schools had met in such competitions. Having a mixed age team meant that previous meetings may not give one team an obvious win. Further, Club games involve mixed ages so such a format would introduce players to something similar.
Bernard Patrick* suggested that the BIT could be utilised for the practical examination part of the Referee’s Course. Match officials were no longer a problem.
The venue was the North Solihull Sports Centre -
* Bernard Patrick was totally committed to basketball, he was involved in many different ways during his life. He had been a player, referee, West Midlands Basketball League committee member, Area Treasurer and was also involved in the old Central League. From the donations received following his sudden death a trophy was purchased in his memory to be awarded annually to the referee of the year. Mrs Sheila Patrick made the first presentation of the award at the end of the 1987-
The Bernard Patrick Trophy is awarded to the Referee of the Year. Bernard was also a great friend to myself and many in the sport.