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20 August 2026  4 min read

Durham Basketball League is first to meet BE's local league standards

The Durham Basketball League is entering an exciting new chapter, with developments set to strengthen the competition both on and off the court. 

Led by an army of passionate and dedicated volunteers, the league continues to demonstrate its impressive scale and growing influence across the North East of England, with 75 teams and approximately 1,200 players competing across men's, women's and junior divisions.  

The league has also won gongs at the BE Awards - North East Region, snagging Local League Provider of the Year in both 2024 and 2025.

As part of this recognition for meeting the league standards, the league will receive a free website and gain access to additional funding opportunities to support coaching development and officiating qualifications. These resources will help strengthen the basketball workforce and improve the overall quality of the competition. 

"We're all basketball mad," said its league secretary, Matt Connolly.

"Basketball in this country is definitely a family affair. I think it's one thing that sets basketball apart from maybe some sports where you do tend to get that whole family link through with parents who have played or officiated and the kids then start doing it. Then others join in, and you very much do see that when you look at our registrations, you see a lot of similar names popping up quite a lot, you know, families and stuff, which is fantastic. 

"And now that we have Basketball England’s Tier 1 status, it means we can do so much more with what we have, and it will benefit everyone involved. I’m so thrilled!"

Basketball England’s Senior Delivery Manager, Simon Unsworth says that the league will now unlock a range of benefits from BE, including 12 free officiating courses and a free website for a year:

"We are delighted to see the Durham Basketball League meet our standards and the Sport England Tier 1 Code for Sport Governance; they do a brilliant job giving people quality opportunities to play our game."

Durham Basketball League secretary Matt Connolly (second in from right) with his fellow committee members at the 2024 BE Awards (left to right, Dan Bell - League Registrar, Louise Wylie - Welfare & Safeguarding Lead and David Wylie - Junior Chair and Officials Lead) 

Going digital to help players of all ages and abilities in Durham 

Ahead of the new season, the Durham League will make a mandatory transition to eScoring and the PlayHQ digital platform.  

The move will modernise league operations by streamlining player registration, fixture management and match administration, creating an easier and more consistent experience. 

"We made a decision as a committee to do that," Connolly explained. "Our registrations officer Dan Bell will tell you straight away that going to PlayHQ has certainly been a massive improvement from a player and match officials registration perspective. 

"We also immediately jumped with both feet into eScoring. We started eScoring games last year in the Durham League. I coach Jnr. NBL as well for the club that I'm involved in, and we were still going to Jnr. NBL games well into Christmas using the old paper sheets.  

"We have made sure that we are all using the eScoring, which is also mandatory for this upcoming season in the Durham League."

The League is what it is because of who is involved 

Like most leagues around the country, they all couldn’t work without volunteers, and basketball-mad Connolly fits that bill. A native of West London, he moved to the north east 12 years ago due to his day job as commercial director for a lighting company and found local basketball clubs to get involved in. 

More than a decade on, Connolly is part of an incredible team that helps run the Durham Basketball League, which includes parents and players, and is headed by the legendary chairman John Harding, who has been involved in the sport for nearly 60 years. 

"John is our figurehead and the beacon that we all gravitate back towards," Connolly said.  

"We've got a fantastic junior secretary, David Wyli; he's again another Durham League stalwart, level three referee and table official, coach. Still, like me, limping up and down a basketball court, trying to play as well. And again, just oodles and oodles of passion, and he's the head coach of East Durham Lions as well.

"Our match officials and disciplinary chairman, Malcolm Turnbull, again, has been playing and officiating basketball for more decades than he'd like me to remember. There are too many people; they all do an incredible job, and it’s a labour of love. We all just love the game."

Local League Benefits & Standards

Words by John Hobbs