Comp set to be a huge slam dunk

THE annual McDonalds Ballarat Junior Tournament is back this King’s Birthday long weekend and with thousands of young basketballers and their families descending on the City, the event is set to give a boost to the local economy.

The event, now in its 50th year, sees a range of teams in the under 12 to under 20 age groups playing on courts across Ballarat.

This year there will be a record number of 350 teams taking part and the competition is estimated to bring $8.3 million into the local economy.

“The competition has been going 50 years and it started at a time when the scale of it would have been quite different,” said Basketball Ballarat CEO Neville Ivey. “The numbers this year are at a record level.”

With a varied age range of competitors, the tournament also draws in additional spectators, family members and team support staff.

“The thing with the junior tournament in particular is it usually attracts a large contingency of families with mums and dads and grandparents,” said Mr Ivey.

“The number of players attending is well over 3500 and then we you add coaches, team managers and families it gets to the point where you have around 10,000 people attending.”

The games will take place on courts at Selkirk Stadium, the Minerdome, Ballarat High School, as well as Loreto, St Patrick’s, Damascus, and Phoenix colleges.

“The year we have four courts available at Phoenix College which is a great asset with the increase in numbers,” said Mr Ivey.

The competition is also set to provide a boost for Ballarat’s hospitality and tourism sectors.

A search of accommodation websites shows limited hotel room availability during the long weekend and prices for rooms still on offer are generally being valued at more than $2000 for the three days.

“We know that there’s a minimum of three nights stay that represents something like 30,000 bed nights over the three days,” said Mr Ivey.

“We understand that Ballarat in terms of family style accommodation is fully booked for the three days, so it has a knock on effect.”

“All these people are out for lunch and dinner so there’s a really significant impact.”

Mr Ivey said the success of the competition comes down to Ballarat’s tourism offering and the people who help make it great.

“I think the consistency of teams coming to Ballarat and having a great experience with all the offering Ballarat has as a destination has people wanting to come back,” he said.

“We are really thankful that we have volunteers that make this event the success that it is and also that McDonalds Ballarat is a sponsor.

“Without them it makes it very difficult to run events at this scale.”