Senior elite teams administrator Melissa Thomas said preparation for the Tasmanian games happened as early as February, starting with the hunt for accommodation.

The teams travel from the Minerdome to the airport on their mini bus, with the Ballarat GMHBA Miners scheduled to depart a few hours after Ballarat Skoda Rush. 

SEABL provides 10 airfares per team, covering nine players and a coach.

Basketball Ballarat then purchases an extra two seats to allow an assistant coach and team manager to attend games.

Thomas said teams flying separately to Tasmania had worked in Rush’s favour.

Player Molly Mathews, unable to catch the earlier flight, will travel with the Miners, while Miners coach Nathan Cooper-Brown will travel with Rush.

Although, with a 6pm tip off and the Miners due to arrive at 4.30pm, there is a chance Mathews will be late to Rush’s game.

Rush and Miners both play Hobart on Friday night, while Rush plays Launceston on Saturday night and the Miners travel 1.5 hours from their Launceston accommodation to Ulverstone to face North West Tasmania.

Thomas said the teams aimed to stay at the same accommodation to offer the returning players and coaches some familiarity with the area and travel routes to stadiums.

Coaches and team managers will drive the teams in hire cars from Hobart to Launceston on Saturday morning, with sightseeing and food stops along the way. Food is covered with an allowance for each of the players. 

Thomas said when it came to interstate trips, the teams’ community commitments sometimes had to be rescheduled – such as a clinic on Friday afternoon.

“The Tassie trip, along with Canberra, is probably the hardest because it is three days,” Thomas said.

“A lot of people have to take that Friday off work if they are not a full-time basketballer.”

The teams return to Melbourne together on a Sunday morning flight from Launceston.