IT’S been a long four years for the Swan Hill Basketball Association, but the wait will be finally over when the club hosts its 19th annual Junior Invitational Tournament this weekend.
The return of the annual tournament, last held in 2019, will be an exciting opportunity for young Swan Hill basketballers, many of whom have never represented their association in front of their home crowd.
The Junior Invitational Tournament will attract more than 1000 young basketballers from 104 teams. More than 3000 visitors are expected to fill our region’s accommodation and hospitality venues.
After COVID wiped out both the 2020 and 2021 events, the annual tournament was all set to return last year, until the flood crisis forced the late cancellation of the competition, yet again breaking the hearts of the Swan Hill Flyers junior squads.
Tournament co-ordinator Paul Morrison is just as eager as the players for the first games, starting at 8am on Saturday.
“I know everyone is pretty excited, one because we haven’t played for three or four years, but also because we have record numbers enter as well,” Morrison told The Guardian this week.
“It will be the first time a lot of our kids have had the opportunity to represent our association in a tournament at home.
“Certainly, all of our under 12s and most of our under 14s, maybe even some of our under 16 players, would have never played a home tournament.
“Last year was a bit of a shock, because we were all ready to go, and then a week out from the tournament, we were told we couldn’t use the stadium, because it was being used for emergency accommodation and we couldn’t operate without it.
“It wouldn’t have been the same anyway as a lot of teams come from Echuca, Wodonga, Wangaratta, Shepparton area and it was a bit tough for them to come, because a lot of them would have been at home sandbagging and preparing their homes.”
Boys and girls age groups ranging from under 12s to under 18s will compete in more than 240 matches on nine courts at six venues in Swan Hill and Lake Boga.
Morrison expects a busy weekend for the army of volunteers helping co-ordinate the event.
“We actually had to turn some teams away because we just couldn’t fit them in the draw,” he said.
“Our first games will commence at 8am Saturday and we will be playing games right through until 9.20pm on Saturday night, which we’ve never done, just to get them all played.
“It has been a bit stressful this year, because we’ll be playing so many games and even the grand finals will be held a little bit later than usual on Sunday.
“It’s not just players and their families either, but there is around 30 referees coming to town to officiate games as well, so there’s a lot to organise.
“It’s a big positive for the town. We usually get around 2500 visitors, but I think we’ll easily head north of 3000 this year just based on the numbers per team.
“There’s roughly 30 people per team by the time you include coaches, parents and siblings, and we’re going to have north of 100 teams.
“The motels are full and a lot of money will flow into the town, because the kids won’t play for the entire weekend, so there’s plenty of opportunities for those visiting to get out and about.
“It’s a big fundraiser for our club and we generate a fair amount of money, which all goes back into running our association, from sponsorship and income that’s generated from the tournament itself.”
