Ballarat set to host 2020 Australian Under-18 Championships and Kevin Coombs Cup
The Kevin Coombs Cup for wheelchair athletes will run from Tuesday 21 April – Friday 24th April.
The announcement comes on the back of Ballarat hosting the 2019 Australian Under-14 Club Championships last week. It will be the first time the city has hosted this event since 2015.
Responding to the announcement, Basketball Ballarat CEO Peter Eddy, said that attracting the under-18 Championships and Kevin Coombs Cup was a sporting and economic coup for Ballarat.
“The eight-day Australian Championship will attract players and spectators from across Australia. The two events will deliver over 8,500 bed nights to the city and will be a significant boost for our local businesses and accommodation providers”, Mr Eddy said.
“Basketball Ballarat is grateful to Basketball Australia for the confidence it has shown in our city to award us these two prestigious events. Attracting events such as Australian Championships and Kevin Coombs Cup is an integral part of Ballarat’s events and tourism market”, Eddy added.
The recent development of the $24M Ballarat Sports Event Centre has positioned Ballarat firmly back into the sports events market.
“Ballarat had fallen behind other major regional centres and had begun to miss out on significant basketball championships such as these.
“With the funding support of the City of Ballarat, Victorian Government and Federal Government, this issue has now been addressed and Ballarat once again has proven to be a very capable host with quality facilities”.
Basketball Australia Executive General Manager, Paul Maley, commented on the importance of the Australian Under-18 Championships and Kevin Coombs Cup, before acknowledging the excellent bid from Basketball Ballarat.
“The championships are an integral part of Basketball Australia’s High Performance pathway, bringing together some of the nation’s top young talent, with many athletes potentially progressing through to NBL and WNBL ranks, before also vying for Australian national team representation, including at Olympic and Paralympic levels.”
“The tender from Basketball Ballarat was excellent. Given their proven history of delivering quality events and the addition of the wonderful new stadium, we are thrilled to announce the awarding of the 2020 Australian Under-18 Championships to Ballarat,” Maley said.
Operations & Events Manager at Basketball Ballarat, Mark Valentine, is extremely pleased to receive the nod from Basketball Australia for these two Championships.
“We staged the under-14 Club Championships and National Coaches Conference last week delivering just over 16,000 bed nights to the city and although I believe we always have a well-prepared tender and strong case for hosting such events, I was really thrilled that our tender was successful.”
An independent assessment determined the economic impact of the 2015 tournament was $1,669,000, further highlighting the boost the event will have for the city of Ballarat.
Further scheduling and details regarding the 2020 Australian Under-18 Championships and Kevin Coombs Cup will be released in coming months.
Basketball Australia are pleased to announce that the 2020 Australian Under-18 Championships & Kevin Coombs Cup will be hosted by Basketball Ballarat at the brand-new Ballarat Sports Event Centre from Friday 17th April – Friday 24th April.
Basketball Australia
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