Safety arrester for overhead and vertical hinged basketball goals or other overhead sports equipment. If a support or winch cable breaks the arrester will lock and stop the unit from falling avoiding personal injury or mechanical/structural damage but in normal use the cable simply extends and retracts as units are raised or lowered. The arrester can accomodate up to 6m travel (option up to 15m) and up to 140kg and should be fitted to all overhead goals for safety.