Young basketballers to star at Selkirk Stadium

SOME of Australia’s best young basketballers will gather in Ballarat for the Basketball Australia Under-20 and Ivor Burge National Championships next week.

Selkirk Stadium will host the competition for the second consecutive year, with 28 teams from across Australia battling for the first national title of the calendar year.

The week-long tournament runs from 28 January to 2 February.

The Ivor Burge competition provides athletes with an intellectual disability the opportunity to compete for the national title.

Featuring teams from six Australian states – and New Zealand joining the men’s division – the action tips off on 29 January.

Pool games in the Under-20 section start on Tuesday as the Ivor Burge teams train, and will continue on Wednesday and Thursday before quarter-finals take place on Friday, semi-finals on Saturday, and the grand final on Sunday.

Victoria won both the men’s and women’s under-20 titles last year, while Victoria won the men’s and New South Wales the women’s in the Ivor Burge competition.

The under-20 men’s championship was first held in 1974 and was won by Victoria Metro; the women’s championship was introduced in 1981 with South Australia the first winner. Teams representing each state compete for the title of national champion each year.

Individually, the Bob Staunton Medal is awarded to the most outstanding male and female player of each championships event.

The award was named to honour the memory of Bob Staunton and his contribution to Australian basketball as both a player and an administrator.

Many basketballers who have represented their state at the under-20 national or Ivor Burge championships have gone on to represent Australia on the international stage, including Boomer Patrick Mills and Brad Newley and Opals Lauren Jackson and Erin Phillips.

The event is ticketed, with both event tickets and daily passes available.

Tickets can only be bought online at intix.com/event/u20-ivor-burge-national-championships.

Fixtures are available on the Basketball Australia website in the ‘Competitions’ section and all games will be live streamed at kommunitytv.com.au.