before the blitz was even thought!! the goldfields giants held there own pre-season event and used to invite 3 perth teams up to the goldfields for the long weekend . it was played in a round robin format with the top 2 teams meeting in the grand final winner take all
the purse $ 5000 . that's what im talking about.
then the powers to be thought what a great idea lets make a heap of money by running a pre-season tournament . time to put up some money or incentives!!or let other clubs run there own serious tournaments and play for some real $$$.

They should make it a competitive event with a final that people can watch even if there is a very small finals process,

ie, pools, semi, final

Everyone would ahve a great time, can anyone from BWA clarify oif this is being considered?

It used to have a finals format back in 2010 when Willeton won the pre season blitz. It didn't really make it that much more competitive though. Coaches still played weird lineups/rested imports etc. Money would probably be the best way to force competition.

It's an important weekend for teams to get reps in against the rest of the league but not sure how important it is to make it "less boring"

In the end we play this game because it is enjoyable, regardless of the teams being fielded I know personally I'd much prefer to play in a tournament where there was some incentive to turn up and pay the excessive fees and parking nightmare on offer with the country cup that is normally also on at the same time.

Also because the country cup is on, what a great opportunity to let people see some good games and promote the team to people who like basketball?

I think if you spoke to the coaches they would see the current value but would also see the room for improvement.

Disagree Waves
If you actually watch some of the games, coaches are playing fairly similar styles to what they would in the regular season. It's a great opportunity to get tape and game practice for the season.

No one ever really uses the tape, or tapes games at the blitz. Its to figure out the team chemistry on the far on of the bench

I just think, they are holding this weekend they may aswell make it slightly competitive with some incentive to win. "Thats just how it is" isnt a valid response which seems to be a common answer in this league. Most other leagues a striving to be better every year, big V does an amazing job, especially in the junior levels.

It shouldnt have any effect on the actual season, but I agree they should make it competitive in some way, rather than nothing matches.

I disagree that the Blitz is a waste and that there needs to be an "incentive".

The purpose of the Blitz is to give each team a number (this year it's 4) of practice games prior to the regular season. It gives teams/coaches a chance to trial new strategy, line-ups, players etc against quality opposition with proper officials.

Each team has different goals / expectations heading into the Blitz and that's why providing a cash prize or other incentive for the winner would be unfair to me.

For e.g. some teams might be giving injured players the chance to build match fitness, or trialing a young player. Others might be trying to build chemistry among their top 5 or 6 and will therefore only play those players.

Yes it is inconvenient for the country teams and the fee to play (which partly covers running costs) is annoying. Having said this, every sporting comp in the world probably has a similar "preseason tournament".

The AFL for e.g. has now moved away from a tournament style pre-season to a more "round robin" format which acknowledges that the pre-season tournament is about getting ready for the actual season, rather than winning.