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Residents urge Belmont to change girls youth basketball to two-year age divisions
Summary
Multiple Belmont residents told council the current three-year age divisions for girls’ youth basketball discourage participation and volunteer coaches and asked staff to prioritize a change to two-year divisions, citing local participation figures and limited rec center hours.
Several Belmont residents used the public-comment period at the Dec. 2 Belmont City Council meeting to press the city to change girls youth basketball from three-year age divisions to two-year divisions, saying the current structure discourages participation and strains volunteer resources.
Danielle (last name recorded in transcript as "vanh") told council she has raised the issue for five years and said Belmont’s 2024 population of about 15,669 implies roughly 3,000 children under 15. She said girls in some age groups are forced to play against much older children, that participation moved to a local church program in part for better age matching, and that parents and coaches have been lost to the program because of the experience. She also criticized limited recreation-center hours (including Sunday closures) that she said make the program difficult for families with working schedules.
Other speakers, including Cassie (recorded in the transcript as Cassie anduku) and Nancy Seagull, echoed those points and urged parity with boys’ divisions, arguing two-year divisions would increase retention and development opportunities for girls. Councilmembers and staff responded that Parks & Recreation staff and the Parks & Rec Board should evaluate the proposed change and that Planning/park staff will provide additional program data for council consideration. Councilmembers encouraged the public to bring their concerns to the Parks & Recreation Board and noted the board’s next meeting and the planning calendar for related text amendments.
The comment period did not include a formal motion or vote on the sports-age structure; council directed staff to evaluate the proposal and to coordinate with the Parks & Rec Board. The matter may return to the council after Parks & Rec staff present participation and program-capacity data.
