The next generation of Australian basketball talent will converge on Willetton next year, with the district’s stadium locked in to host the national under-14s club championship.

More than 700 teenage basketballers and coaches representing 48 clubs from across Australia are expected to make the trip west, with the annual tournament a favourite in junior basketball circles because so many more elite players can travel and take part than in other interstate competitions.

Willetton’s boys and girls sides have just returned from this year’s club championships in Casey, Victoria, where they both were the highest-placed WA teams in the tournament, finishing sixth and ninth respectively.

It will be the Willetton stadium’s biggest event since its expansion to eight courts in 2020 and the first time the mass participation tournament has been played anywhere in Perth.

Being played in the September school holidays increases the likelihood of interstate families also venturing to Perth as supporters, as well as spenders in WA’s economy via tourism and hospitality businesses.

“Mass participation events like this are a crucial part of our events strategy as they create vibrancy in the community, jobs for West Australians and bring people to WA to experience all our State has to offer while building a lasting social legacy,” Tourism Minister Rita Saffioti said.