And Newcastle Basketball are exploring a change in the name for their teams to coincide with a potential elevation to the NBL 1 East league for men and women.

Basketball NSW have said the NBL 1 East will start in April 2022 and have finals in August but other details of the semi-professional league are yet to be announced.

NSW will be the last Australian state to join forces with the privately-owned NBL to create the second-tier competitions. NBL 1 East is expected to supersede the Waratah leagues which feature the Newcastle Hunters.

In anticipation of the change, Newcastle Basketball have started a survey to give local fans a say in a potential change of brand for their representative teams.

"It's a very exciting time for basketball in NSW and indeed throughout Australia," Newcastle Basketball general manager Neil Goffet said.

"We just thought the timing was right to have a look back over our shoulder before moving ahead with what promises to be an incredible era for the sport in this region.

"It's always difficult implementing change because people get very passionate about their name, nickname or club colours and things like that.

"But we just thought it was time to perhaps let our history shape our future and we want the basketball community to have their say."

Newcastle Basketball have suggested six names they believe will be among the most popular, including the Newcastle Falcons, who were part of the inaugural NBL in 1979 before folding in 1999.

Others options include the Hunter Pirates, who played in the NBL from 2003-06, and the Newcastle Hunters, which was a name first used in 1983 when the association fielded a team in the second-tier South East Australian Basketball League (SEABL).

There are also the Newcastle Scorpions, which was a women's SEABL team name, and the Newcastle Hustlers - a nickname given to those junior teams.

Another suggestion is the Newcastle Pirates - a combination of the area's former NBL teams.

The public can have their say on the new name at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/NewcastleBasketball until October 27.

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