‘Unique’: WNBL unveils ninth team’s name and logo
Sebastian Tan |
The WNBL has unveiled its newest team – the Tasmania Jewels – as the revamped league continues its expansion towards 10 sides.
NBL club the Tasmania JackJumpers were in August awarded a licence to field a women’s team, fresh off the club’s 2021 arrival, 2024 title, and last season’s sold-out home season.
The licence guaranteed Tasmania would host a WNBL team for the first time since 1996, after the Hobart Islanders folded.
Now the Jewels will make their debut in 2026, but won’t be the new kids for too long, as the WNBL plans to announce a 10th side.
The competition’s chief executive Jennie Sager told AAP southern Queensland had emerged as a frontrunner for the 10th side, and could join the competition when Tasmania enters.
Sager said the introduction of the Jewels was the “beginning of something special for the continued rise” of women’s basketball in Australia.
“With 10 additional roster spots opening up, this club is creating new pathways for young girls to chase their dreams and play basketball at the highest level,” she said.
With the JackJumpers named for an ant found in large numbers in Tasmania, their sister side’s name – devised after a community engagement campaign – also pays homage to the insect.
It’s inspired by a queen ant, the leader of a colony, with queens traditionally wearing crowns adorned with jewels.
The primary logo features a stylised golden silhouette of Tasmania as the jewel centre of a crown formed from the shape of ant mandibles, and the face of a queen ant.
It’s green and yellow colours represent the island’s natural landscape.
“Tasmania is the jewel in the crown of Australia and now the jewel in the crown of the queen ant, and a force to be reckoned with in the WNBL,” JackJumpers chief executive Christine Finnegan said.
“We believe it represents the unique beauty of the state of Tasmania and the unbreakable resilience of our team and our community.”
AAP
