Basketball Nationals

Australian Schools Basketball Championships 2024

During the entirety of Week 9 Ballarat High School had the privilege once again of attending the Australian Schools Basketball Championships on the Gold Coast, Queensland. This competition brings the countries strongest school-based teams together for a massive competition for Junior (Year 7-8), Intermediate (Year 9-10) & Senior (Year 11-12) students.

The school entered two teams this year:

• Senior Boys

  • Jesse Baker (Year 11)

  • Floyd Brooks (Year 10)

  • Noah Cummins (Year 11)

  • Jacob Hutchinson (Year 11)

  • Jaspar Lee (Year 11)

  • Daniel Malcolm (Year 12)

  • Hamish Mathison (Year 11)

  • Jackson O'brien (Year 10)

  • Tyson Shillito (Year 12)

  • Josh Skellern (Year 12)

  • Jacob Borner (Coach)

  • Ash Rogers (Team Manager)

• Senior Girls

  • Georgia Bodey (Year 12)

  • Georgia Hayne (Year 11)

  • Ella Kerr (Year 10)

  • Aislinn McCarthy (Year 11)

  • Aisha McMahon (Year 10)

  • Alex Oldaker (Year 10)

  • Ivy Roberts (Year 9)

  • Stella Roberts (Year 12)

  • Crystal Thomas (Year 11)

  • Kristy Trahair-Merrett (Coach)

  • Deb Hutchinson (Team Manager)

The Senior Boys moved up from the Intermediate competition to the Senior Competition this year, they are entered into Division 4. The Senior Girls were once again entered into Division 2.

Day 1

It was an early start for everybody as the whole squad caught the 7am shuttle bus to Tullamarine Airport for the 11:15am flight to the Gold Coast. The flight had a bit of turbulence which made a couple of our inexperienced flyers a little nervy! Touched down safely and we all made our way to the Ashmore Palms Holiday Village where the squad would be staying for the week. It is perfectly located between the two venues the matches will be played at this week (Gold Coast Sports & Leisure Centre & Coomera Indoor Sports Centre). For dinner, the squad made its way to Montezuma’s for an authentic Aztec Mexican dinner. The students were filled to the brim with nachos, burritos, enchiladas & quesadillas! The teachers did the worst possible thing to all of the students by confiscating all phones for the entirety of the meal! The staff also didn’t have a great night on the tequila, they were just decorative water bottles! On return to the accommodation all players were presented with their 2024 BHS Nationals t-shirts!

Day 2

Everybody got a much needed sleep in for the start of Day 2 with the first matches for both teams scheduled for 11:30am at the Gold Coast Sport & Lifestyle Centre (GCSLC) and would return at 7pm for follow up matches.

The boys first game was against Smith’s Hill High School (Wollongong, NSW). They got a decent reality check when Smiths’ got out to a large lead and the BHS shots were just not dropping in! The team couldn’t bridge the gap and went down 37pts to 60pts but will be looking to rebound later in the evening.

The girls first game was against Willetton Senior High School (Willetton, WA), a school routinely in the championship division. It was a close affair for most of the match until the last quarter when Willeton put on a string of quick buckets. The girls were defeated 51pts to 66pts and felt like they had let one slip.

The whole BHS squad returned to the accommodation to use the Ashmore Palms resort’ number one asset, the swimming pool. It just happens to be located straight outside our villas so it was well utilised by all the students and staff. 

Both teams returned to the GCSLC later that night for follow up matches at 7pm.

The Boys played Mosman High School (Mosman, NSW). The match was a very close affair with both teams trading baskets back and forth. The BHS team shot two timely 3 pointers to create a decent gap, going on to win the match 54pts to 46pts.

The girls played against Karabar High School (Karabar, NSW) where the team had the match on cruise control from start to finish and go on to win 76pts to 52pts.

With two wins on the board everybody returned to the accommodation for a late dinner of chicken parma/schnitzel and an early night in preparation for tomorrow.

Day 3

Day 3 started early with matches scheduled at 9:30am & 11am at the alternative venue the Coomera Indoor Sports Centre, more commonly know as the “Hot Box” due to the venues lack of cooling.

The girls were up first against the Northpine “Eagles” Christian College (Dakabin, QLD). Coach Kristy implemented a full court man to man defence for the first time which was a master stroke, resulting in several uncontested scores to break away to an early 12pt lead. From here the BHS team piled on the pressure scoring freely for the remainder of the game to run away with victory 58pts to 23pts.

The boys came up against Encounter Lutheran College (Victor Harbour, SA). Having watched the girls team claim victory they wanted to repeat the success. The match didn’t start off quite how the boys would have liked with Encounter putting up 3 quick triples to take a decent lead. The fight back from the side was commendable taking a 1pt lead into the half time break. From here it was neck and neck with both schools trading blows, nobody asserting themselves. Towards the end of the final quarter BHS opened up a 5pt lead and had encountered foul trouble. The team was able to withstand the pressure and hold on for a gutsy 3pt victory (61pts to 58pts) and a double win for Ballarat High School.

Everybody returned to the accommodation for some well-earned rest and relaxation!

Later in the day the girls team returned to the GCSLC to play their second and final match for the day against Central Coast Sports College, the boys team also attended as the cheer squad. The BHS girls had the match on their terms from the start to finish with some excellent perimeter shooting allowing the team to claim victory 56pts to 31pts. 

Everybody returned to the accommodation to a BBQ dinner masterfully prepared by Chef Jacob Borner. The BBQ dinner was a roaring success and all students were well fed.

The nights entertainment was Ten Pin Bowling at the Go Bowling Ashmore Ten Pin Bowling Centre, conveniently only 5 minutes away from the accommodation. Bragging rights were on the line to determine who was the squads best bowler, with Floyd Brooks looking to defend his crown from last year.

Kristy took out the first game bowling an imposing 160 beating out a very upset Alex who bowled a 133 in second place. In the second game it was Jesse who bowled a 163 which was a remarkably impressive result considering his first game of 75, with Jacob Borner in second place with 138.

The best average award went to Kirsty with an average of 141.5 followed in second place by Jacob Borner with a 128 average. The most consistent award went to Ash who bowled 104 in both of his games!

Full results below: 

Day 4

Day 4 for was an early start for the boys who had two matches to play today and single match for the girls. These were the last matches of the Pool Play portion of the competition. 

The boys first match was against Wahroonga Adventist School (Wahroonga, NSW). The squad finally found its range from the 3pt range with multiple players scoring 2 or more triples to open up a demanding lead at half time. This theme followed on with the boys going on to win the match 63pts to 37pts and carry some much-needed momentum into the game against Central Coast later today.   

The Girls were up next against Cabra Dominican College (Cumberland Park, SA). The match was a very see-sawing situation until Cabra took advantage of some early quarter BHS foul trouble to take a 17pt lead into the half. The girls put on an attacking/defensive masterclass to bridge the gap and at one point push a 5pt lead. It was an absolutely crushing finish when scores were tied with 1 second to go and Cabra put an offence rebound in for the 2pt victory (55pts v 57pts). This left the girls team with a 3win-2loss record and qualify for the Quarter Finals the following day against Central Coast Adventist School (Erina, NSW) tomorrow.

The final match of the day was the boys team second game of the day against Central Coast Adventist School (Erina, NSW). Energy was high going into the match but unfortunately this was short lived when they produced their worst whole team performance of the competition. The team was beaten in all assets of game to go down to 33pts to 59pts. The boys team finished with 3win-2loss record and qualify for the Quarter Finals against Bishop Druitt College (Coffs Harbour, QLD).

To deal with the disappointment of the last couple of games the staff treated all students to a Dominos Pizza night! Each student hand selected either own pizza which was ordered, picked up and delivered by our own Deb Hutch.

The nights entertainment was a trip to Top Golf to smash some golf balls down the interactive golf range. It was a great night with some surprising student talent, a few should consider playing BAS Golf next year! The MVP of the night was Jacob Borner who scored an impressive 270 points from 20 balls hit. A couple of boys even left with Top Golf merch!

Day 5

The day started off really early with the girls quarter final scheduled for 9:30am against Central Coast Adventist School (Erina, NSW). Looking at the results from Pool B the girls were optimistic about their chances of success. The whole squad did a terrific job of reducing the oppositions best player to 6 points and aggressive scoring on the other end to win the match 46pts to 38pts to set up a rematch in the semi final against Willetton Senior High School (Willetton, WA) later today.

The boys were up next against Bishop Druitt College (Coffs Harbour, QLD). Some scouting from coach Jacob Borner detailed the two players who they needed to shut down to guarantee victory. The match was reasonably close for the first half but on the siren Bishop Druitt shot and scored on a full court attempt to take an 8pt lead and more importantly all the momentum into the break. From here the boys battled away but couldn’t shift the lead that Bishop Druitt had accumulated and went on to the lose the match 56pts to 59pts, what could have been if that lucky 3pt shot hadn’t been scored! The boys team tournament was finished, they have finished in the Top 8.

Later on everybody returned to the GCSLC for the girls semi-final match against Willetton Senior High School, winning this match would guarantee a spot in the Grand Final. Like the first time they played it was extremely close game through the first half. Unfortunately, in the third quarter the girls had a massive lapse in concentration to let Willetton open up a large double digit lead. This lead  ultimately led to the teams downfall as Willetton ran away with the game and BHS was defeated 37pts to 51pts. The loss meant the girls team would play off for the bronze medal tomorrow against Cabra Dominican College at 12:30pm

All returned to the accommodation for a quiet night in and swim before the girl’s big match tomorrow!

The boys Nationals Tik Tok page had gained a fair bit of traction since they had arrived. Out of the blue the students were contacted by Basketball Australia and were asked to create a Tik Tok that would be played on the Basketball Australia account! You can see it on the link below:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1VN6K7FhoiEQkagdLHJMO6jCbkGSV8Zp/view?usp=drivesdk

Day 6

The entire group welcomed a much-needed sleep in and extra pool time this morning!

For the final time this trip, the whole squad made its way to the GCSLC for the girls bronze medal match against Cabra Dominican College (Cumberland Park, SA). 

Prior to the match though the girls had the incredible luck of running into several Gold Coast Suns players and 3-time Richmond premiership coach and new Gold Coast Suns coach Damien Hardwick. In what appears to be a continuing theme the girls kept the margin relativity small through the first half, only to a be run over by a 3pt shooting master class from number 82 who shot 6 3pt scores and was the major difference between the two sides. Cabra went on to win the match 57pts to 64pts. The team had finished in 4th place for the competition, the National Schools Basketball Championships was over for Ballarat High School. It was an emotional time for several of the girls who had finished their last sporting event ever for Ballarat High School, rumours were that even Coach Kristy might have shed a tear in her final speech to the team! 

After the match, students returned to the accommodation for a freshen up to head to the Pacific Fair (Queensland equivalent of Chadstone Shopping Centre) for a few hours of retail therapy to help with all the disappointment of finishing the competition. From here the team headed to the Surfers Paradise La Porchetta for an all you can eat Pizza/Pasta deal that Jacob Borner had negotiated. As always with La Porchetta the food was amazing and the students couldn’t complain about us not providing enough food!

To burn off a few calories the group headed on a walk to the beach foreshore where they were holding a summer market on the strip. A few students joined the enormous line for the very popular Yo-Chi frozen yoghurt, while others utilised the time “wisely” to make beach Snapchats and TikToks!    

From here everybody returned to the accommodation for the return of the BHS awards night. Students were presented with humorous awards about the way they conducted themselves throughout the week. It is always a good laugh and the all the students appreciate the thought that both coaches put into these.

Day 7

Day 7 was an early start to pack and clean up our villas for departure. All the students did a fantastic job returning their accommodation to the condition they arrived to on Sunday. It was also a great feeling to have donated our leftover food to a couple of families nearby rather than throwing it all away.

We all said goodbye to the Ashmore Palms Holiday Village for another year and made our way to the Dreamworld theme park for the day. Students had 4 hours to spend on the thrilling rides and adjoining waterpark to reward them for all their hard work this week, the staff might have found their way on to a couple as well. 

The squad made its final trip back to the Gold Coast Airport to catch our 4:30pm departing flight back to the Tullamarine Airport. On arrival the students filled up on Macca’s before we caught the shuttle bus back to the Ballarat Station to meet all the parents eagerly waiting to collect their students.

What an amazing experience for all these students and a lifetime of memories they will be able to tell their children.

A big thank you must go out to Jacob Borner, Kristy Trahair-Merrett and Debra Hutchinson for all the organising, planning and fundraising efforts they all put in to make this trip possible. Also to the Ballarat High School Council who approved permission once again for this sporting excursion to go ahead.

As always with the out of state trips we are taking notes on improvements for next year and planning/fundraising ideas have already started for the 2025 trip back to the Gold Coast.

That’s all from me.

Ash signing out!

Ashley Rogers

Assistant Sports Coordinator