A sample of Francis Floresca & Dawn Burke (ed.)., The Rise of the Parramatta Basketball Association and the Birth of the Ultimate Basketball League,  (2015) 123pp.

This book was crafted to highlight how the Parramatta Basketball Association (PBA) and the Ultimate Basketball League (UBL) had used their platform as a tool of social inclusion. As a photographer, Doctor McDonnell’s “History Beyond the Classroom” program gave me the opportunity to not only rearrange historical documents from an unorganised archive into one cohesive narrative, it had also given me the chance to create my own concrete contribution to local sports history by taking my own pictures of UBL games and events throughout their third season. In this light, my argument will be presented through the amalgamation of pictures and historical narrative, presented in a chronological, cohesive sequence.

In terms of evidence, I utilised a wealth of human knowledge made available to me in the form players, volunteers and staff of the PBA and the UBL by method of observation, interviews and personal conversations. These conversations allowed me to gain a deeper understanding of the league’s purpose to improve the sport and the various reasons why had involved themselves in the league.

Additionally, I also relied heavily on the PBA’s photographic archives in order to depict aspects of the league from 1959-2014. Aside from acquiring photographs from the association’s archives, I was also given permission by journalist Noel Rowsell to use some of his photographs for my project.

I chose photography as the dominant feature of my book because of its capacity as an art form to convey the rawness of the human emotions that sports inspires. In all levels of basketball, it is the presence of these powerful human emotions in the court that makes the sport so captivating for players and spectators alike thus making it a significant aspect of any stories revolving around sports. In this light, I wanted to use my skills to produce photographs that portray these feelings in order to fully showcase how it is these players’ love for the game that fuels the success of the UBL and PBA.  

Furthermore, these photographs are also a testament to the cultural, gender and age diversity of players, officials, staff and volunteers that had dedicated their time to building the PBA and UBL over the years. The images also highlights how the UBL had attracted a tremendous number of international and local players with big dreams of playing professionally again or for the first time and had given them the chance to stay in shape while building up their statistics and game tapes, courtesy of the league’s dedication to recording every single game that is made to available to public straight after game days. Hence, I chose to communicate vastly through the use of these pictures as it exemplifies how the UBL and the PBA had been and continue to be used a vehicle for social inclusion.

Moreover, I referenced the work of local sports news writers such as Noel Rowsell and Matt Shand in order to establish the significance of the league to the basketball community in New South Wales. Their writings highlights how the UBL had provided many players the opportunity to play basketball at a high level for the first time and had given children as young as five years old the chance to learn how to play the game.

On the subject of communal significance, the project attempts to contribute to solving the issues surrounding the lack of historical literature written about local basketball history. This project is most significant for the PBA and everyone connected to it as it had been formed by literally hundreds of intertwining personal histories. In terms of the numbers of people that the PBA had touched across its fifty-year history alone, I am convinced that their story is one that is worth telling and remembering.

The biggest challenge in my decision to partake in this project was ensuring that the final product of my labour reaches an audience far beyond my classroom. As a part of my plan, I came up with a viable list of methods that I could utilise to make my book available to the public sphere. I ensured that the goals I set for myself are highly achievable both financially and physically.

First of all, I plan to print around twenty copies of the final product. A few will be donated to the PBA. The rest will be given to libraries all across the local Sydney area. My initial target is to donate a copy to the Fisher Library, Liverpool Library, Bonnyrigg Library and Parramatta Library. 

Of course, I have also asked the PBA to place an online copy of the book in their website, which has hundred and thousands of views. I can also arrange for a link to be published on the UBL Facebook page, which has over 2,500 likes. I believe that it is absolutely necessary to make this information accessible via the Internet and social media is one of the best ways to achieve full exposure.  Securing the existence of a digital copy of the book online is also an effective response to the high cost of printing hard copies of this project’s final product.

Finally, quite a few players had also expressed interest in purchasing a copy of the book for their own personal use. I have yet to discuss this with the PBA management but I am sure that this is another way that the book can be dispersed. Many of the players who had expressed interest are from overseas and are therefore likely to take the book with them or send the book “back home” to their families and friends.

Conclusively, this project had rejuvenated my love sport photography thus I agreed to keep taking photographs for the UBL for many years to come in order to continue building the photographic archive that I started. As for the project, I have plans to continue updating it after every season.

— FRANCIS FLORESCA

Francis Floresca, "Improving the Sport: Why I'm Working with the Parramatta Basketball Association," History Matters, (1 November 2015)