SHEPPARTON HOSTING ELITE BASKETBALLERS

 

The Shepparton Basketball Stadium will be hosting three elite Vic Country Basketball Camps this school Holidays.

 

“The 2017 Vic Country ‘Gold Nugget Camp’ for the best under 14 basketballers will be conducted over three days this school holidays.” Shepparton Basketball’s Operation Manager Tony Long said.

 

The Gold Nugget Camp has a long history in Vic Country Basketball and is the culmination of the BVC Regional Basketball Academy.

 

The Regional Academy has been operating during the winter across 9 Regional Centres in Country Victoria and selection camps have been conducted in those areas, with the best 100 U14 boys and 100 U14 Girls coming to Shepparton for the final stages.

 

“Basketball Victoria’s High Performance Coach, Justin Schueller will lead the camp.” Tony added.  Justin was recently appointed to the Head Coach role with the Australian National U17 Mens Team to compete at the 2018 World Championships.

 

As well as 200 athletes, the camp is also seen as an important step in developing the next group of Basketball Coaches with 40 coaches selected from Country Regions to also attend.

 

This camp will be followed by 2 one-day camps for U16 and U18 Athletes also looking to be selected for Vic Country teams.

 

“Approximately 200 U16 athletes from across Country Victoria will descend on Shepparton in the second week of the School Holidays.” BVC Participation Coordinator, Craig Hockley said. “The athletes will be vying for selection into the 2018 Vic Country Teams attending the Australian Country Junior Basketball Cup and the Vic Country State Team attending Nationals.”

 

This year, Vic Country won silver in the U16 Girls going down in overtime to Vic Metro in an intense Gold Medal game at Nationals.

 

Following this camp approximately 200 U18’s will roll into Shepparton to also put their name up for selection into Vic Country Teams.  The 2017 U18 Vic Country Women won gold at the Nationals defeating a strong SA Metro team.

 

Basketball Victoria Country’s General Manager, David Huxtable discussed the attraction of Shepparton.  “BVC recognise that Shepparton Basketball and their band of volunteers can conduct a great event and each athlete will be well looked after.”

 

“The only issue we have is regarding the ageing infrastructure and court numbers.” David continued.  “As our number of elite athletes grows, we will be required to re consider where our camps are held and the attraction of other Regional Victorian Cities with redeveloped stadiums and multiple courts under the one roof.”

 

David also said that the Shepparton Region is ideally located for easy access from all parts of Regional Victoria.  “The City caters well for the visitor and has numerous attractions and activities, so that parents, siblings and friends can explore and discover the diversity of this region, whilst the athletes work through their sessions.”

 

With over 600 Basketball athletes and their families visiting this area over the School Holidays, the Shepparton Region is expected to receive a significant economic benefit from the sporting tourism dollar.