Club History

Belconnen Ramblers Basketball Club Inc is a major force in junior and senior basketball in the Canberra community. The club traces its roots to Griffith, NSW, and has been part of the ACT basketball landscape for more than 50 years — earning the 2024 Chief Minister's Canberra Gold Award for its contribution to the community.

Club timeline

• Early 1970s — Joe and Barb Lodding relocate from Griffith, NSW to Canberra. Joe forms a men's basketball team in the South Canberra Amateur Basketball Association (SCABA) under the Ramblers name, inspired by the Griffith club Resches Ramblers. Games are played at the Wesley Centre in Forrest.
• c. 1974 — Within two years of founding, Ramblers fields both men's and women's teams in the SCABA competition.
• Late 1970s — SCABA and the North Canberra Amateur Basketball Association (NCABA) amalgamate to form the ACT Amateur Basketball Association (ACTABA). Competition moves to NATEX (now Exhibition Park, near Mitchell). The first junior players come to the club from Telopea Park High School.
• Early 1980s — ACTABA introduces a "Principal Clubs" model requiring clubs to run junior programs. Ramblers moves to the outer Belconnen suburb of Charnwood and adopts the name Belconnen Ramblers. Two other clubs — Shadows and Eveready — amalgamate with Ramblers, shaping the club's colours.
• 1980s — A golden era for the club, producing players and coaches who go on to NBL, national and international careers — including Guy Molloy, Rob Beveridge, John Stelzer, Tony Wall, Michelle Hocking, Tina Stelzer, Dave Nelson and Mark Warmington (who also designs the club's iconic logo).
• 1990s — The global basketball boom — fuelled by Michael Jordan and Shaquille O'Neal — drives strong growth in junior participation, alongside the rise of the Canberra Cannons (NBL) and Canberra Capitals (WNBL), and the influence of the Australian Institute of Sport.
• 2003 — The club fields five Junior State League teams and 13 junior social competition teams. 14 players are selected in the ACT squad. Senior programs run 14 teams, with five men in the Canberra Gunners and a woman named in the Australian Opals squad.
• 2022 — Ramblers wins Runners Up, Good Sports ACT Club of the Year, recognised for "outstanding dedication to inspiring positive change and building a healthier, more family-friendly club environment."
• 2024 — The club is awarded the Chief Minister's Canberra Gold Award, recognising more than 50 years of service, participation and contribution to the Canberra community.
• 2026 — Ramblers make a historic return to the Women's Senior Premier League – Division 1, defeating Ginninderra Rats 49–45 in Round 1. Vale Joe Lodding, the man who founded the club, passes away at age 80.

Origins and foundations

The Belconnen Ramblers Basketball Club was not born in Canberra. Its earliest roots trace back to Griffith, NSW, where a men's team played under the name Resches Ramblers — named after the local Resch's brewery sponsorship that was common in country sport at the time. It was this team, and the basketball culture around it, that would travel with a Griffith family to Canberra and take root as one of the ACT's most enduring sporting clubs.

In the early 1970s, Joe and Barb Lodding left Griffith heading for Sydney — but stopped over in Canberra, where Joe found work in the building and construction industry alongside a number of other tradespeople from the Griffith region. They never left. In settling into their newly adopted city, the Loddings also found their way into the Canberra basketball community: Joe formed a men's team to play in the South Canberra Amateur Basketball Association (SCABA), keeping the Ramblers name alive in their new home. Games were held at the Wesley Centre in Forrest.

The Belconnen Ramblers are recognised as a Basketball ACT foundation member from 1971, making them one of the longest-standing clubs in the ACT competition. The club grew quickly — within two years of founding, Ramblers had entered both men's and women's teams in the SCABA competition, a sign of the community appetite for the sport that would define the club's culture for decades to come.

As basketball grew across the capital, SCABA and the North Canberra Amateur Basketball Association (NCABA) amalgamated to form the ACT Amateur Basketball Association (ACTABA). With the merger came a change of venue — competition moved to the halls at NATEX, now known as Exhibition Park near Mitchell. The club's first juniors came from Telopea Park High School in the mid-to-late 1970s — a connection that helped establish Ramblers as a pathway club for young players in the region, and would prove foundational to what the club became.

Growth and development

In the early 1980s, the newly formed ACTABA introduced a rule requiring clubs wishing to enter teams in Senior Divisions 1 and 2 — now known as the Senior Premier League — to also coach junior teams. This "Principal Clubs" model was designed to grow the quality and breadth of junior competition by bringing more experienced coaches to younger age groups. For Ramblers, this was a pivotal moment: the club relocated to the outer Belconnen suburb of Charnwood, and the club name was formalised as Belconnen Ramblers. The move cemented the club's identity and geography, and today Charnwood remains the home of the Ramblers program.

The 1980s were a growth period in every sense. Canberra was at the forefront of Australian basketball — the Canberra Cannons were one of the NBL's powerhouses, and the Canberra Capitals were establishing themselves in the WNBL, coinciding with the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) having a prominent influence on the sport. Ramblers revelled in this environment, producing players and coaches who went on to NBL, national and international careers, among them Guy Molloy, Rob Beveridge, John Stelzer, Tony Wall, Michelle Hocking, Tina Stelzer, Dave Nelson and Mark Warmington.

During these growth years, two other Canberra clubs came together with Ramblers through amalgamation. Shadows joined first, and in recognition of this, gold was added to the Ramblers' original black and white colours. Later, Eveready amalgamated with Ramblers, and their primary colour, red, was incorporated into the club palette — completing the black, gold and red combination Ramblers wear to this day. These amalgamations were not just cosmetic: they brought players, families and community ties that strengthened the club's foundations for decades to come.

If the 1980s were the decade of consolidation, the 1990s were the decade of expansion. Basketball exploded globally on the back of NBA superstars Michael Jordan and Shaquille O'Neal becoming cult heroes to young Australians, and Ramblers — like clubs across the country — saw a surge in junior registrations. The Canberra Cannons and Capitals continued to perform at the highest levels of their respective competitions, and the AIS basketball programs were drawing the country's best talent to Canberra. By the end of the decade, Belconnen Ramblers was established as one of the most significant clubs in the ACT competition, with a broad junior program and a competitive senior offering across multiple divisions.

The modern era

By the early 2000s, Belconnen Ramblers had established itself as one of the premier basketball clubs in the ACT, competitive across both junior and senior divisions and producing players good enough to represent their state and nation. A snapshot from 2003: five Junior State League teams, 13 junior social competition teams, 14 players selected in the ACT squad, 14 senior teams, five men in the Canberra Gunners, and a named player in the Australian Opals squad.

One of the defining characteristics of modern Ramblers is its generational depth. Many families who joined the club in the 1980s and 1990s are still involved today, and the club is now seeing third-generation players come through, with grandparents, parents and children all having played for Ramblers at some point. The club runs programs for players from Under 10s through to Under 19s, as well as Senior Premier League and Social leagues for players aged 18 to 80. With over 350 players across all programs, Ramblers is one of the largest basketball clubs in the ACT.

We are focused more on playing for the love of the sport than winning championships. We still do well at winning our fair share of championships, but we know in winning, that every one of our players has had an equal opportunity to contribute.

The Ramblers junior program includes participation in the Junior Premier League (JPL) for elite athletes, alongside junior competitions from Division 1 through to Division 6, with boys' and girls' teams competing from Under 10s through Under 19s. Senior programs include the Senior Premier League (SPL) — Basketball ACT's premier competition — as well as a strong social league offering for men's, women's and mixed teams at every level.

In a milestone moment for the club, Ramblers made a historic return to the Women's Senior Premier League – Division 1 in Winter 2026 — the first appearance at this level in close to two decades. The newly formed squad delivered an immediate statement, defeating long-time rivals Ginninderra Rats 49–45 in Round 1. The team wore a newly launched uniform inspired by the club's early 2010s design, produced by Huru. With two women's teams now competing across Premier League divisions, Ramblers is building toward a new chapter.

Belconnen Ramblers is a member of Basketball ACT and registered as a not-for-profit incorporated association (ABN 73 867 412 386). The club is run entirely by dedicated volunteers and is a proud Good Sports member — a national program that helps community sporting clubs build healthier, more family-friendly environments.

Club identity: colours and the Rambler Man

The Belconnen Ramblers' distinctive three-colour palette didn't arrive all at once — it evolved over decades, with each addition carrying the memory of a club that came before. The founding Ramblers team played in black and white — simple, strong, and common for the era; these were the colours carried from Griffith and used through the early SCABA years at the Wesley Centre in Forrest. When Shadows amalgamated with Ramblers, gold was added to the kit in recognition of the merging club's identity, and gold sits prominently in the club's colours, branding and culture to this day. The third colour came with the arrival of Eveready, who brought their signature red — completing the now-iconic black, gold and red combination, a palette unique in ACT basketball and immediately recognisable on any court.

The Ramblers' iconic logo — featuring the "Rambler Man" — was created by Mark Warmington, one of the club's own notable alumni. Mark based the design on the distinctive style of the Boston Celtics logo, adapting it into a Ramblers identity that has stood the test of time. The Rambler Man has appeared across uniforms, merchandise and club materials for decades.

A Rambler is defined as someone so skilled that they make the game look easy, effortless — like magic. They make the game look like they are rambling, or wandering, through the defence.

This definition captures something important about the Ramblers philosophy. It's not just a name — it's an aspiration: to develop players so capable, so comfortable with the game, that skill becomes invisible and the sport becomes art.

The Ramblers have worn many uniform designs over the club's 55+ year history. The black, gold and red combination has been present in various forms across each era, evolving from the simple singlets and shorts of the early SCABA days through to modern sublimated designs. The current uniforms, supplied by Huru, are inspired by a popular early 2010s design, chosen as a deliberate nod to club history when the women's team returned to Premier League competition in Winter 2026.

Uniform archive

The club is actively collecting photos and information documenting its uniform history, built from the club's own THE VAULT research series. Browse the uniform archive to see 55 years of Ramblers jerseys, from the founding black and white through to today's black, gold and red — and get in touch if you can help date a jersey or fill a gap.

Honours and alumni

2024 — Chief Minister's Canberra Gold Award. Awarded by the ACT Chief Minister in recognition of more than 50 years of service, participation and outstanding contribution to the Canberra community. Belconnen Ramblers was recognised as a cornerstone community organisation that has shaped the lives of thousands of Canberrans across multiple generations.

2022 — Good Sports ACT Club of the Year, Runners Up. Recognised for "outstanding dedication to inspiring positive change and building a healthier, more family-friendly club environment."

Over more than 50 years, Ramblers has produced players and coaches who have gone on to careers in the NBL, WNBL, national programs and international basketball, among them: Guy Molloy (NBL player and coach), Rob Beveridge (NBL player and coach), John Stelzer and Tony Wall (1980s golden era), Michelle Hocking (women's program standout), Tina Stelzer (1980s era), Dave Nelson (the club's formative years) and Mark Warmington (designer of the Rambler Man logo).

The Lodding legacy

Joe Lodding brought basketball and the Ramblers name from Griffith, NSW to Canberra in the early 1970s, building the club from a single men's team into one of the ACT's most significant sporting organisations. He served as ACT Academy manager for many years, and worked closely with the program throughout his time with the club. Joe passed away in April 2026 at the age of 80.

Joe and Barb both have made significant contributions to basketball in the ACT.

— Club tribute, April 2026

Barb Lodding went on to become a long-term manager of the Canberra Capitals (WNBL), a role celebrated throughout women's basketball in Australia.