Rainbow Coast Raiders

Rainbow Coast Raiders was a State Basketball League (SBL) club based in Albany, Western Australia. The club fielded a team in both the Men's SBL and Women's SBL. The Raiders played their home games at Albany Sports Centre.

Rainbow Coast Raiders
Leagues	State Basketball League
Founded	1989
Dissolved	1999
History	Men: Rainbow Coast Raiders 1989–1995 Albany Raiders 1996–1997 Great Southern Raiders 1998 Rainbow Coast Raiders 1999 Women: Rainbow Coast Raiders 1992–1994
Arena	Albany Sports Centre
Location	Albany, Western Australia
Team colors	1989–1997 White, green, yellow/gold[1] 1998–1999 White, purple, black[1]
Championships	0

Club history

1989 saw the formation of the State Basketball League (SBL) with both a men's and women's competition. A team from Albany, known as the Raiders, entered the Men's SBL for its inaugural season.^[2][3] They were the first team outside of Perth to enter the SBL^[4] and represented the Rainbow Coast and Great Southern region.^[1]

The Raiders missed the finals in their first three seasons before making the top eight for the first time in 1992, finishing seventh with a 12–12 record and losing 2–0 in the quarter-finals to the Cockburn Cougars.^[3] The 1993 season marked the Raiders' best ever season, as they finished third with a 17–7 record and defeated the Willetton Tigers 2–1 in the quarter-finals. They went on to lose 2–1 to the Wanneroo Wolves in the semi-finals.^[3]

In 1992, a Raiders women's team entered the Women's SBL for the first time. In three seasons, the team had three wins and 57 losses.^[5]

The Raiders men did not play finals again from 1994 onwards^[3] and folded following the 1999 season due to financial constraints.^[4] The club attempted to re-enter the SBL for the 2001 season but their application was unsuccessful, with the league stating that the Raiders were "not quite ready".^[6]

In 2009 and 2011, a regular season SBL game was played at the Albany Leisure & Aquatic Centre.^[7][8] Over the next few years, attempts were made by Albany Basketball Association to submit bids and applications for a return of the Raiders to the SBL.^{[4][9][10][11]}

Season-by-season results

Men's team Year Won Lost Pos Titles 1989 5 17 10th 1990 11 15 10th 1991 12 14 9th 1992 12 12 7th 1993 17 7 3rd 1994 9 17 12th 1995 8 18 11th 1996 6 20 12th 1997 7 17 11th 1998 4 20 13th Wooden spoon 1999 9 17 11th

Women's team Year Won Lost Pos Titles 1992 0 20 11th Wooden spoon 1993 2 18 10th 1994 1 19 11th Wooden spoon

References

1. "Rainbow Coast Raiders" (PDF). SBL.asn.au. Archived (PDF) from the original on 23 September 2021.
2. "Raiders Representative Development Program". Albany Basketball Association. Archived from the original on 7 November 2020.
3. "MSBL History". SBL.asn.au. Archived from the original on 30 October 2020.
4. Edmunds, Tim (14 October 2015). "Raiders' return to SBL not forgotten". Albany Advertiser. Archived from the original on 7 November 2020.
5. "WSBL History". SBL.asn.au. Archived from the original on 30 October 2020.
6. "Eagles, Raiders not to compete in 2001". goldencity.com.au. 15 December 2000. Archived from the original on 28 April 2001. Retrieved 11 December 2024.
7. "Redbacks win in historic Albany match - WA State Basketball League". GameDay. 9 June 2009. Retrieved 11 December 2024.
8. "Redbacks to tackle Magic in Albany - WA State Basketball League". GameDay. 1 July 2011. Retrieved 11 December 2024.
9. Kagi, Jacob (7 July 2011). "Albany a chance to Raid SBL once again - WA State Basketball League". GameDay. Retrieved 11 December 2024.
10. Kagi, Jacob (27 March 2012). "Albany making progress on SBL return - WA State Basketball League". GameDay. Retrieved 11 December 2024.
11. "Albany SBL bid takes shape". The West Australian. 27 March 2012. Archived from the original on 23 September 2021.

External links

• 1990 Albany Raiders men's team