Thank you for your continued patience in waiting to hear more about what our basketball programing this season will be. NW Basketball relies heavily on city of Calgary school gyms, with the recent announcement from the school boards that they will not allow 3rd party rentals impacts us greatly. We typically have about ~60hrs/week in rentals and without these gyms we now have only ~8hrs/week.
CMBA is working with all the associated zones to create a cohesive solution to allow all athletes across the city and in the outlying areas the opportunity to play basketball. CMBA will be allocating Saturday gyms that were previously booked for games slots in private facilities to the zones that require practice times. What this means for NW is that we will use CMBA gyms on Saturday to allow our athletes to gain valuable practice times.
We need our families to continue to be flexible and work with us to provide basketball programming this season.
The current plan is to run a modified season from Sept-Dec with the hope that we return to our regular program in Jan on the contingency that Calgary Schools allow gym rentals.
What are NW COVID protocols?
NorthWest Basektball will adhere to the recommendations of the Alberta provincial government, Basketball Alberta, Calgary Minor Basketball and any requirements from our facilities that we use. We will work with our families to provide the safest possible environment under those guidelines. These protocols are time sensitive and will be distributed as we learn them.
We do not guarantee any friend requests and we provide NO refund if you are not put on a team with a “friend’. We appreciate that athletes want to play with friends. If friends are similar in skill groups, we do allow opportunities for athletes are same skill level teams to play with a friend. However, as we are part a larger league group, we need to adhere to skill levels being similar on teams.
Why is cost the same?
We have kept the cost for the season the same as we will have slightly less gym hours at a higher cost. We are working hard to get the athletes in the gym as much as possible, however it will not be the same as our traditional schedule. We also need to account for the increased cost of private facility gym rentals that we will be incurring on Saturday’s & weekdays. Most City of Calgary schools are rentals are between $30-90/hr and most private are between $80-110/hr. We are also seeing an increase in many of our cost due to new COVID protocols.
NW basketball is a non-profit organization and if at the end of the season we have funds remaining for any reason such as shut down due to COVID, or excess gym rental budget, we will reassess and determine if a refund is appropriate.
If U18 has no practice time why is the cost the same?
As stated above gym time and cost is a premium, when evaluating how to run a season we had to make priorities on gym availability and usage. All CMBA zones agreed that at the U18 age the priority was getting them to play, practices were not as high a priority. Therefor to balance the gym usage and additional cost this decision was made.
What time will my practice be on Saturday?
Saturday practices typically will be scheduled between 9am-7pm.
Why do we have to drive to gyms outside of the NW to practice?
Families will have to drive to different areas of the city on Saturday for practice as we do not have our normal gym practice times during the week due to the city of Calgary school decision not to allow gym rentals. In our traditional season families would have to drive on Saturdays as well, as games in the CMBA league are in all areas of the city. We are working to try and get gyms in the NW but this is not always possible, so families need to be prepared to drive to other areas of the city on Saturdays.
What if I can not make every Saturday?
Attendance is at the discretion of the family. We understand that athletes will not be able to make all practice and game sessions. Please communicate with your coaches to this matter, as they put much time into planning and knowing when you will be absent is important.
Why are my practices on Saturday?
Practices are on Saturdays this is the only gym time we have been able to obtain.
Why did NW not get more private gyms?
Our board did contact many private facilities in our area over the past 6months. Many were waiting on COVID protocols and many were already fully booked. We are continuously following up on any available gym rentals, however the demand is high as many user groups have been displaced due to the Calgary school boards decision to not rent gyms.
Does NW have any weeknight gyms? Who is using those?
We currently have 8hrs of gym private gym time booked from Sept-Dec. This gym time will be used by our youngest athletes our LTP & Tyke program.
What is a training group opposed to a team?
A training group will be a 2-4 teams of similar skill grouped together to share a gym. Coaches of these groups will work together to share gym space and provide practice drills for all athletes in the gym.
When will I know my CMBA game schedule?
Game schedules are typically posted ~5days before games start. CMBA will share information such as which weekends games will be scheduled on as soon as they have this information. All communication with regards to questions about game times needs to be directed to NW NOT CMBA
What is difference between CNWB/NW and CMBA?
Calgary Northwest Basketball (CNWB or NW) - is specific to families living in the NW quadrant of the city. Communities are listed here. NW is a individual non-profit organization that is self-governed, and work in cooperation with Calgary Minor Basketball to provide grassroots basketball to our participants.
Calgary Minor Basketball is made up of NorthWest, North Centeral, Calwest, Eastpro, SoCal, Bow River, Airdrie, Cochrane, Okotoks & CLS (Chestemere, Langdon, Strathmore). CMBA coordinates league play for these individual associations.
Why do some of the other CMBA zones have weeknight practices?
Each one is self-governed and runs independently. Certain zones have more private facilities within their boundaries which allows them to attain more gym time. School boards around the city such as Rockyview & Foothills are allowing gym rentals, so this has allowed some associations to access different amount of gym times.