Manchester Magic and Manchester Mystics have a new logo.

Designed by André Taylforth, it has been created to:

·        Bring the two successful basketball programmes under one banner for the first time;

·         Give them a fresh, new look that will excite players and fans;

·         Increase public interest in the Magic and Mystics;

·         And bring players, parents and coaches of both clubs even closer together.

It means all Magic and Mystics teams, including the WBBL side based at the National Basketball Performance Centre in Belle Vue, will sport the same motif on match kit from next season.

The new logo will also start to appear on merchandise, banners and other promotional material over the next few weeks, as the Magic and Mystics continue their preparations for what will hopefully be another successful campaign at senior and junior level.

Taylforth is a University of Salford graduate now working as a graphic designer in Austria.

Explaining his design, he said he wanted to give the Magic and Mystics a “distinctive look” that would help them stand out from the competition and hoped fans would wear the new logo “proudly” on their chest.

“I wanted to create something that would accurately represent Manchester, in terms of the creativity that thrives in the city and the true spirit of the streets I experienced while studying there,” he added.

“This means the communication should be in your face, loud while encompassing the essence of the game.

“The logo itself was crafted by slicing a basketball, using the natural lines of the ball itself. This means the logo instantly signifies what it is. Laying another pattern over the slice made for a more beautiful composition.”

How the logo was formed…. It started with a ball.

Formed in the 1990s, the Magic and Mystics are two of the biggest names in British basketball and boast an enviable track record of success at junior and senior level.

In 2016/17, the Mystics, guided by Jeff Jones, won the inaugural WBBL Cup, while Paul Middleton steered the Magic to a successful defence of their National Trophy and Division One Play-Off titles.

The Magic and Mystics have won a combined total of 81 national titles in 18 seasons, with many of their players going on to earn regional and international honours.

Several youngsters have come through the junior programmes to represent the senior teams, while the Magic and Mystics have also helped many talented youngsters further their basketball careers and education in the United States.

You can view a full list of accolades – club and individual – by visiting the ‘Honours’ page on the club’s website (www.manchestermagicandmystics.co.uk/pages/honours.aspx)

The Magic and Mystics junior programmes, as well as the senior Magic team, continue to be based at the Amaechi Basketball Centre in Whalley Range under the leadership of Greater Manchester Community Basketball, a charity and non-profit organisation.

The National Basketball Performance Centre in Belle Vue is now home to the senior Mystics team after Eastlands Trust took over the ownership of the WBBL franchise in August 2016.

The core logo will be used to identify both the Magic and Mystics, but Andre has a created a number of variations, including a special blue for the WBBL team.

See the logo portfolio below:

A review of what became the final weekend of the season for all our teams playing in the Play-offs.

Mystics Seniors
Mystics lost 75 – 90 at home to Sheffield Hatters in the WBBL Play-off Quarter Finals on Saturday 29th April at 7pm.

After a successful regular season for the Mystics which saw the team finish 4th in the WBBL, the Mystics were hoping to make a run the WBBL Play-offs. The game was close throughout until in the last few minutes a moment of luck from Hatters’ Naomi Campbell who drained a shot-clock beating 3, followed by Georgia Gayle also hitting a 3 and then a lay-up to open up a gap the Mystics couldn’t close.

Read the report here

Magic U18
Magic U18 lost 60 – 66 at NBPC against Leeds Allerton High School Force Academy in the Semi-Finals on Saturday 29th April at 4pm
Magic U18 lost 73 – 81 at NBPC against Derby Trailblazers in the 3rd/4th Place game on Sunday 30th April at 4:45pm

Magic U18 were unlucky down the stretch in both their games this weekend having remained within touching distance throughout both games, so to go winless over the weekend will hurt the guys as they put in their best effort throughout the weekend. Missing key player Michael Anumba through injury didn’t help proceedings for the Magic side, however, the rest of the team stepped up to fill the void, sadly, they couldn’t quite get over the line.

Magic U14
Magic U14 lost 61 – 75 at NBPC against London Thunder Lewisham in the Semi Final on Saturday 29th April at 2pm
Magic U14 won 81 – 71 at NBPC against City of Birmingham in the 3rd/4th Place game at 10am on Sunday 30th April

Magic U14 came up against an unstoppable force in London Thunder’s M. Mckay Simpson whose 26 points and 26 rebounds was a big factor in the outcome of the semi-final. Magic U14 did manage to bounce back to win the 3rd/4th place game against City of Birmingham, the only team to beat them twice in the regular season. The game saw a nasty injury to Kai Bradburn-Lewis who broke his fibula, everyone at the club wishes Kai a speedy recovery and we hope to have him back on court soon!

Mystics U14
Mystics U14 won 51 – 37 at NBPC against Richmond Knights in the Semi Final on Saturday 29th April at 12noon
Mystics U14 lost 68 – 75 at NBPC against Sevenoaks Suns in the Final at 4:45pm on Sunday 30th April

The team of the weekend has to go to the Mystics U14, they came so close to winning the National Title. On the Saturday the girls secured their place in the final with the help of the army of what felt like 10,000 fans behind them, certainly the 250 seats available on Court 3 were not enough to accommodate the Mystics support. The Ipswich basketball fans’ were boasting that they were the loudest fans, wrong! They were as quiet as mice in comparison to the Mystics fans.

With the Mystics army of fans re-energized, the girls tried as hard as they could to win the game, they kept the game close throughout, the Mystics had a couple of unlucky misses in the dying minutes of the game where the Suns had the luck as their shots did go in. It’s not the outcome the girls wanted but they can be proud of their achievements this season.