Three former South West Slammers among inaugural class to receive Basketball WA Playing Life Membership

Three former South West Slammers players have been acknowledged for their long-standing involvement with basketball in WA, being rewarded for achieving huge playing milestones throughout their careers. Aaron Edwards, Kate Fielding and James Fitch were last month among the first class of former players to receive Playing Life Membership from Basketball WA after playing 300 or more games during their careers in SBL and NBL1 West. The inaugural class included 46 men and 24 women who reached that achievement by the end of the 2022 NBL1 West season. Regarded as a South West Slammers legend, Edwards played 449 games, which also included a season with the Warwick Senators in the 1990s. He remains involved with the Slammers to this day, helping out with coaching and serving on committees. “It felt really good to be recognised and amongst those people as well because there’s a lot of pretty awesome players and people with great longevity and support for their clubs,” he said. “I started off as a Slammers junior and that was my life. “I’ve gotten so much out of it so I give a bit back and I’ve got kids that have been involved and still are involved now.” Fitch played 315 games during his career, playing solely for the Slammers, and also remains involved with the club to this day in assistant coaching roles with the men’s NBL1 West team. “When I saw my name on (Basketball WA’s Facebook post) I thought ‘wow, OK Basketball WA, good work’,” he said. “I had a conversation with the late John Gardiner, who used to coach Perry Lakes, about how we play in the SBL and NBL1 for years and hadn’t received that much recognition and he told me he was working on that. “After he passed away I wasn’t sure of what was going to happen but when I saw this I thought there was somebody out there who’s listening and taking it on board. “300 games, 400 games, even 200 games is a lot of games to play in our league and to have the clubs recognise it is great. “To have the league recognise it is excellent and now I can truly say I appreciate all the time I gave to basketball on and off the court.” Fielding, who played 345 games during her career, got started with the South West Slammers before moving to Perth to play WNBL for the West Coast Waves, now known as Perth Lynx, as well as playing for the East Perth Eagles and Cockburn Cougars. While she is more involved in women’s football these days, Fielding said she was proud to have played the majority of her basketball career with the Slammers. “Seeing some of the players, both men and women, awarded, I was pretty surprised they weren’t already recognised as life members,” she said. “So many have contributed to basketball in WA and I think it’s really important they are acknowledged. “I thought it was a really awesome initiative, and especially after reading through the names of those awarded. “It’s a real privilege to be named among some incredible players who I played both alongside and against.” Fielding also expressed pride for some of her former teammates who she felt deserved recognition for their efforts. “Carolyn Ward and Lisa Cartwright are both Slammers legends, having played their entire careers with the Slammers, and they were probably right on the cusp of being awarded too,” she said.