Warrnambool Basketball Incorporated (WBI) chairman Shane Dean said the board was taking a proactive approach in preparing for the 2015 Big V season and wanted “sufficient interest” from players and subcommittee members by October 31 — two weeks out from the statewide competition’s annual general meeting,  where teams and draws are finalised. 

He said the association couldn’t afford to wait until January, as had been the case in recent times, to start formalising its plans. 

The Seahawks and Mermaids subcommittee’s four members is well below the ideal number of between eight to 10.

“There is a degree of urgency in attracting new organisational support. We are fairly thin on the ground,” Dean said.

“We have plenty of time to organise something but we need to get it started now.

“I’d say 90 per cent plus there will be a men’s team running around in the Big V next year, no question.

“But don’t assume it’s just going to happen.

“There needs to be committed support to make sure it happens.”

The Mermaids withdrew from the Big V women’s division two competition in February this year — a month out from the season —  from a lack of numbers. 

WBI hopes the Mermaids can be revived at some point, potentially as soon as next season. 

But Dean said it was imperative WBI and the Seahawks and Mermaids subcommittee had strong off-court support.

“We need to be committed at that stage, whether we’re going to field one team, two teams or no teams,” he said of the Big V’s November 15 AGM.

“We’ve said at the end of October we have to have a pretty clear idea as to ‘do we have a committee to run this team?’.

“You would hate to think, after the last couple of seasons where it has been average, that you have a year where they’re showing some promise and play finals, that there is still only four people running the Seahawks’ program.”

Dean said WBI was open to ideas of how to better run the subcommittee, suggesting it could be split in two. 

He said chairman/woman, secretary, treasurer, sponsorship organiser and media officer were the five key roles which needed to be filled.

“We just want to see people put their hands up and say ‘yes, we want to see this continue, we want to see it prosper and grow but we don’t just want to watch it happen, we want to make it happen’,” he said. 

“That way we have eight to 10 people doing one job (each), not four people doing two and three jobs each.”

Dean, who will step down as chairman at the association’s annual general meeting later this year, said the board was eager to establish a way of keeping past players and administrators involved in Warrnambool basketball long-term.

Warrnambool will field a men’s development team in the Country Basketball League summer competition and potentially a women’s outfit, if numbers are strong enough.

Nominations for the CBL’s 2014-15 season must be submitted by August 3.