A TENTATIVE step to revive women's domestic basketball in Warrnambool has developed into a stampede.Warrnambool Basketball president Trevor Roberts set out to assemble four teams for a new invitational competition and was so overwhelmed by the response he finished with six.The first games in a new division one summer season were played last night at the Arc.Roberts said the goal was to create a compact program which started after the football-netball season and finished before Christmas.With assistance from former Warrnambool Mermaids coach Chris Saunders, he was able to get commitments from about 44 players who weren't involved in WBI's winter season."It's been quite amazing and the other thing when I was ringing these women is how enthusiastic they have been," Roberts said."I was expecting to have to coax and plead and beg. They were giving me names of other players they thought would be interested."Roberts said the idea for an invitational competition followed discussions with Warrnambool Mermaids coach Lee Primmer about how to involve more elite players in domestic basketball.He said the shortened summer season was designed to avoid football-netball commitments at both ends of the winter sport.It will be contested by teams from Warrnambool and district, as well as one from Portland.Roberts said the four other senior women's grades would run under a traditional summer season schedule, with finals in March.An extra men's division has also been required to cope with an increase in team numbers from 51 to 62."At a minimum, I'd be hoping that the influx of new players into division one will have a flow-on effect . . . that some will play in following seasons,'' Roberts said."Also, I would be recommending that this shortened season would happen again with more time to plan and have more teams."The ideal would be to integrate it into regular seasons or if it is successful, look at restructuring the seasons."Roberts said Warrnambool Basketball had been without a strong, top-level women's competition for a number of years.Players involved in the new division one schedule include Mermaids Natalie Saunders, Darcy Saunders, Amy Wormald, Holly Greene, Shelley Hunt, former Mermaid Erin Nestor and high-profile netballers Carley Thomas, Kate Dobson, Leah Kermeen and Danielle McLeod.