A MAJOR basketball tournament that was set to take place in Ballarat this year but had to be cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic have been rescheduled for 2022.<\/p>\n
Outgoing Basketball Ballarat head Peter Eddy said the association had been given special consideration to host the 2022 Australian Under-18 Men and Women Basketball Championships as well as the Kevin Coombs Cup at the Ballarat Sports Events Centre.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re absolutely delighted to announce we\u2019ve been able to rescue a major event that we\u2019d lost twice this year,\u201d he said. \u201cOnce in April\u2026 we thought we\u2019d have them in September, and again, ultimately that got cancelled this year.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were fortunate to ask Basketball Australia not go back to tender for 2022, which is the next time they were due. They\u2019ve agreed because of the fact we\u2019ve missed out that.\u201d<\/p>\n
With City of Ballarat modelling suggesting the over 8500 visitors due during the eight days of the event, each visitor would contribute $148 per night.<\/p>\n
By keeping hold of the tournament, Mr Eddy said that the city could benefit from the influx of visitors and the cash injection was significant.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe event\u2026 has over eight-and-a-half thousand bed nights\u2026 It\u2019s $1.26 million worth of economic benefit,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s spread across our community. It\u2019s our retailers, it\u2019s our hospitality, it\u2019s our tourism sector. It\u2019s not just Ballarat but the broader region.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sovereign Hill CEO Sara Quon joined Mr Eddy for the announcement agreed that the flow on effect from the tournament was positive for the city.<\/p>\n
\u201cSovereign Hill\u2019s had a long and enduring partnership with Basketball Ballarat and partnership that we really value,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s about working together as a whole to make sure that Ballarat is a place that can really put its best foot forward for events visitors\u2019, the players themselves and their friends and family.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve seen at Sovereign Hill that basketball events\u2026 bring people into town and spend their time in our hospitality venues. We really value the amount they get out and about.\u201d<\/p>\n
With 2020 proving that very little can be taken from granted and there was no 100 per cent guarantee the tournament would take place, Mr Eddy said Basketball Ballarat was working to perfect the things within its control.<\/p>\n
That includes focusing on statewide events next year and taking the lessons from those activities into the national titles.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a real balancing act on what we can control,\u201d he said. \u201cIf we were to drop back to stage two [restrictions], what we found in the two weeks we had competition here under what\u2019s called the orange 50 code, we got lot of really positive feedback from health professionals, from council, and from our parents about the safety of bringing kids into the sporting environment.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe next step would be bringing in people from other regions within Victoria.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of the things we looked at in planning as an organisation\u2026 was to focus next year on state-based events and even our own June tournament.\u201d<\/p>\n
The eight-day 2022 Australian Under-18 Men and Women Basketball Championships, and the Kevin Coombs Cup which is the nation\u2019s top level wheelchair basketball championships, will run from 10 to 17 April 2022.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A MAJOR basketball tournament that was set to take place in Ballarat this year but had to be cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic have been rescheduled for 2022. Outgoing Basketball Ballarat head Peter Eddy said the association had been given special consideration to host the 2022 Australian Under-18 Men and Women Basketball Championships as […]<\/p>\n