THERE'S likely no escaping it.
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Bendigo Spirit coach Tracy York expects her team will be hub-bound for the start of the 2020-21 WNBL season.
But what that entails and looks like for players, coaches and support staff is anyone's guess.
At a media briefing on Thursday, WNBL officials Paul Maley and Lauren Jackson revealed the league was continuing to work on a raft of competition models in a bid to get the season off the ground by mid-November, despite plenty of uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The proposals include a seven-week hub campaign in one location, or several 'one-to-two week' hubs using multiple locations.
Neither has the WNBL ruled out a delayed start to the season in January in the hopes of a more traditional home and away season being played.
Read more: WNBL considers hub life as the way forward
While discussions between the league and clubs are ongoing, York, who will coach the Spirit for her second season, considers it 'very likely' the WNBL will go down the path of other major sports in Australia and opt for a hub-model.
"I think the first thing they will need to work out is the funding and I think the WNBL and Basketball Australia are looking at how that will work," she said.
"Based on the current environment, AFL has been doing it, Super Netball has been doing it, so it's something that is probably more likely than having a normal season, so to speak.
"Then it becomes more about how does it look, how many people are involved, how does it operate and all those sorts of questions.
"It will be quite different I imagine; less training, more playing and recovery in between. It will be quite a different concept to what we have been used to."
The WNBL says it is considering several locations as potential hubs, with Townsville and Cairns among the first to be mooted.
It has also all but ruled out any games being played in Victoria before Christmas.
York believes it's up north where the WNBL would look at establishing its hubs.
"Most of the hubs with other sports have been in Queensland, so that looks the most likely destination," York said.
"But the WNBL hasn't confirmed anything with us.
"I'm sure they are looking at how it all works and what the options are financially, and getting teams flying in and out."
York envisaged few if any difficulties with players being prepared to join a hub, but said some team officials and medical staff might struggle with getting weeks off at a time.
Meanwhile, the Spirit are continuing to finalise their list with the club still to sign two players to bring the number of contracted players on the roster to 11.
York said announcements would be influenced by the actual starting date of the season, indicating the club has at least one player in mind.
"We'll probably be looking at some nice, good next-level talent, which means they might be a couple of years away from their best, but are someone we can develop and hopefully keep with our program long-term," she said.
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