Wagga boys aim high

By CPL Simone Liebelt
Volume 48, No. 5, April 6, 2006

SGT Ken Robertson and CPL Ben Angliss turn up the heat in Wagga after joining the state basketball league.

Photo by CPL Simone Liebelt

TWO keen sportsmen from RAAF Base Wagga are shooting high by taking on the state basketball league in preparation for the Defence championships later this year.

SGT Ken Robertson, a clerk instructor from the RAAF School of Administration and Logistics Training, and base PTI CPL Ben Angliss recently played their first game against Goulburn as part of the Wagga ‘Heat’ men’s representative team.

“Apart from the Defence championships every year, we don’t get many opportunities to play at a high level, so when the state league came up we both decided to give it a crack,” Robertson said.

Angliss said after the challenging selection process, they almost had to turn down the offer to join the Heat until the Air Force lent a helping hand.

“We had to come up with $400 each to join the squad, but luckily the WOD, WOFF Calvin Lippiatt, is president of the basketball association, so we approached him for help and the Air Force Association offered to sponsor us for the full amount,” Angliss said.

As part of the sponsorship, the squad uses the base basketball stadium for practice every week, much to the delight of the players.

“The team love it here [on base] because it’s quiet, everything is in a confined space, and most importantly, they don’t have to pay to use the court,” Robertson said.

“The team is full of people from different backgrounds, but we’ve all been brought together as a team, which is great for relations with the Air Force. The [players] see us in a different light now; they don’t just see us as ‘Ronnie Raafies’, we’re people and we’re part of the community too.

“It’s fantastic that the base has come to the party because now all the civvies know that the Air Force is behind them.”

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