Few women have had a greater impact on the sport in Tasmania than Kathy Foster, Sarah Veale and Trudy Pearce as they reflect as the new WNBL team, the Tasmania Jewels is unveiled.
There is understandably great excitement in Tasmanian basketball with the new WNBL team becoming a reality with the brand unveiling of the Tasmania Jewels on Tuesday but the sport in the state has a rich history to look back on as it now embarks on a new era.
Tasmania might not have had a team in the WNBL since the Hobart Islanders were last part of the national competition with their final season in 1996, and winning a championship along the way in 1991 in what was their third consecutive grandf inal appearance.
When looking back at the rich history of women's basketball with the announcement of the Tasmania Jewels that will be entering the WNBL competition for the 2026/27season, who better to look back on it with than a trio of all-time great contributors – Kathy Foster, Sarah Veale and Trudy Pearce.
The trio are all members of the Bloodlines which was an initiative started up by JackJumpers championship winning coach Scott Roth to recognize those that have significantly contributed to the past and on-going success of Tasmanian basketball.
While there has not been a WNBL team out of Tasmania since the Islanders played that last season in 1996, female players out of the state have always been among the best to come out of Australia.
That includes Nita Burke who was a regular Opals representative including being captain in1963 while Foster would go on to be an Olympian with the Opals, win three WNBLMVP awards, and become the first Tasmanian player inducted into the Australian Basketball Hall of Fame.
Carla Boyd would end up winning an Olympic bronze medal with the Opals in the Sydney 2000Games while Holly Grima won gold at the FIBA World Cup in 2006, and even more recently Alanna Smith is doing Tasmania proud on the global stage as the reigning WNBA Defensive Player of the Year.
Waiting 30years might have been too long to wait for Tasmania to have a team in the WNBL again, but the wait is now almost over and it provides the perfect chance to have a look back on some of those figures instrumental in basketball across the state.
KATHY FOSTER
When it comes to basketballers from Tasmania, Foster is right at the top of the list with what she achieved in her remarkable career always doing so proudly representing her state.
Across 135WNBL games, Foster was a three-time MVP winning the league's top award in 1985,86 and 89 while being a key part of the Islanders reaching their first two grand finals in 1989 and 90.
She also had a distinguished career playing with the Australian Opals as vice-captain between 1983-88 while going to the Los Angeles 1984 Olympics and being part of the World Championship teams of 1983 and 86.
It was only fitting when she became the first Tasmania player to be inducted into the Australian Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013 while continuing to coach at numerous levels, teach at the Fahan School in Sandy Bay, and now more recently she is enjoying retirement.
Foster always proud been Tasmanian and would never have wanted to live anywhere else, but one thing she does feel she's missed out on is having too many former teammates around following their playing days together.
Following the end of the Islanders after the 1996 WNBL season, there was no professional team in Tasmania for those players to stay around for and many have remained on the ma \inland, and had few reasons to return to visit.
That's one great positive among many that Foster sees in the return of a WNBL team to Tasmania with the Jewels that suddenly anyone with a connection or interest in women's basketball now has a reason to come across Bass Strait again.
"Even on a really personal note for me, I don't get to see any of the people that I played with because there's been no reason for them to come to Tasmania without us having a team," Foster said.
"So I personally feel like I've missed out on a lot of those connections from continuing to live here at home so I think for Tassie it's just so important that we feel part of the WNBL again.
"It's shown that when we've been given the opportunity in the NBL that we've grabbed it and the community has really supported it, so I think it's really important to have our team and it's so great for Tassie to be included."
SARAH VEALE
Veale's journey with the Launceston Tornadoes started as a player in the inaugural team in 1993, she was a key part of their championship success in 1995 and that's where she played out her career following the birth of son, current player Kai Woodfall.
Looking back on her playing career now and she made some lifelong bonds particularly with those teammates from the triumphant 1995 Tornadoes team.
"I was asked to try out for the Tornadoes when they formed in 1993 so I relocated back to Launceston at that point, and there was a bit of a fairytale that came along with it when we won a CBA and national championship in 1995," Veale said.
"Going through that journey with those girls, we're still the best of mates and that experience was incredible.
"The media coverage we got was actually amazing and I think that's why we were quite successful in terms of crowds because they really got behind us, and we were the only standalone female at that point in time, and I think we still are.
"So from where it's come from to where it is now, I think it still has a similar following and boys are just as passionate as women's, as we are about men's basketball, and that's just about the game now."
Veale then knew she wanted to give back to basketball in Tasmania, but particularly in Launceston and that's when she got involved coaching with the Tornadoes and up until the end of the 2024 NBL1 South season, she remained head coach.
"I did start by coaching Kai and then was talking to some old teammates and said that somebody has to put back into basketball, and we had such an incredible journey and amazing times so I wanted to help other people do that," Veale said.
"That's how my coaching journey started and I was really lucky that I've had some good opportunities in terms of going to the AIS as a network coach on a couple of Aussie camps, coaching with state teams and at country cup, and the opportunities with the Tornadoes so it's been a good journey so far."
TRUDY PEARCE
Pearce's basketball journey began back when she began playing as a junior and she first started in club representative teams in the under-12s and then began representing Tasmania from under-16s onwards.
But it was only later at the urging of her husband and children that Pearce threw herself back into basketball and she has gone on to become one of the most influential figures in Tasmanian basketball highlighted by her currently being the Chair of Basketball Tasmania.
With her husband part of basketball folklore in Tasmania and her children playing the game themselves, Pearce was pulled into the sport and her roles have varied from being a team managing, club administration, officiating, being on the score table and helping to run national championships.
She has also taken on roles helping with state and regional basketball governance all at local, regional and state levels along with being a team manager for a host of Australian teams including the Sapphires, Gems and UniRoos along with at the Youth Olympics.
It's quite the resume of basketball involvement that Pearce has amassed but always at the centre of it for her is just doing what's best for basketball in Tasmania as she reflected on her proudest moments when made an inaugural Bloodlines member.
"These range from helping play a role in steering basketball in Tasmania, locally, regionally and at a state; watching my children improve and achieve and in a sport that also builds character and connects (a sport I love)," Pearce said.
"Then there's also supporting my husband to coach (his lifelong passion - both with winning and losing); and being appointed as a Team Manager for Australian teams– there is a chill and thrill that occurs when the Australian national anthemis played at World Championships."
Pearce is proud to have seen basketball in Tasmania only continue to grow especially with the JackJumpers joining the NBL, and she's sure a similar impact can be had by the Jewels as she takes extra pride in making sure the connection to Launceston and northern Tasmania remains strong.
"Currently junior pathways are more coordinated, a greater level of consistency of skill development. There are now more development opportunities with an increased awareness of the intensity that is required to compete more broadly at a higher level," Pearce said.
"The geography of the North West has always supported healthy competition; there is also such a strong and rich history of basketball participation -that carries with it a proud legacy; and also a great group of volunteers who have continued to grow the sport."
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