Access denied: Hout Bay Hurricanes basketball club outraged by suspension of programmes

The Hout Bay Hurricanes Basketball Club has been locked out of their homeground and battling to get it open again. The Hout Bay Hurricanes Basketball Club management says they are furious after all basketball and volleyball programmes at the Hangberg Sports and Recreation Centre were stopped. This has however been disputed by city officials which said communication was provided.

Club chairman, Roscoe Jacobs, alleged that their access was denied by the City of Cape Town without any communication. “We strongly condemn the City of Cape Town’s decision to suspend theBasketball and Volleyball Recreational Hub Programmesat the Hangberg Sports and Recreation Centre without consultation, transparency, or prior engagement with affected community organisations,” he said. For more thanfive years, the club has operated from the recreation centre as part of the City’sRecreational Hub Programme, delivering after-school basketball activities, holiday programmes, and youth development initiatives for children and young people.

“These programmes have consistently provided safe spaces, mentorship, and positive alternatives to gangsterism, substance abuse, and other social ills,” Jacobs said. He said despite this long-standing partnership and contribution, the club was “abruptly” informed that the programme at the recreation centre no longer exists. “To date,no formal explanation has been providedoutlining why the programme was discontinued, when the decision was taken, or why community partners were excluded from the process,” Jacobs said.

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According to the basketball club, the City denied access to the facility based on a newly enforced booking process, but the club was not informed. “This process was introducedwithout adequate communication, transition arrangements, or supportfor community organisations that had been operating in good faith under the Recreational Hub framework for several years,” Jacobs said. He added that the timing of this enforcement was “deeply troubling” as it followed engagement by the club and community members regarding theabsence of holiday programmes. The Hangberg Sports and Recreation Centre was once home to the Hout Bay Hurricanes Basketball Club until a system change by the City.

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