The ACJBC management team made the decision to cancel the event due to the withdrawal of a number of states as well as New Zealand in recent weeks. The Directors made the difficult decision to cancel the January 2021 event late last year and while discussions and planning had continued, team and athlete preparation has been severely impacted, leaving organisers no other option but to cancel the January 2022 event.
Basketball Victoria and Basketball New South Wales made the decision to cancel the 2022 Southern Cross Challenge and East Coast Challenge, originally scheduled for January next year.
Basketball Victoria CEO Nick Honey said these tournaments are an integral part of Basketball Victoria’s High Performance pathway and the decision to cancel them was difficult but necessary at this time.
“Cancelling these tournaments is a devastating outcome of our current lockdown situation as the ACJBC, Southern Cross Challenge and East Coast Challenge are all fantastic tournaments,” Honey said. “The current lockdown and restrictions around our return to sport have made it impossible to attend or host these events next year.
“We can appreciate how devastating this will be for athletes, families and coaches alike who look forward to these tournaments every year – Basketball Victoria will work with all stakeholders to ensure basketball can return as quickly as possible following the end of this lockdown and to see these events return in 2023.”
There is good news though, Basketball Victoria is planning to host an all-Victorian High Performance event “The Country Metro Challenge” from 14-17 January 2022 for Under-18, Under-16, Under-15 and Under-14 athletes from both Metropolitan Melbourne and Country Victoria. This development camp and tournament will enable athletes to continue to gain High Performance training and experience heading into 2022 and beyond. More event details to come in the following weeks.
We look forward to the return of the ACJBC, Southern Cross Challenge and East Coast Challenge in 2023 and bringing back the tournaments’ significant development opportunities for junior athletes as well as developing coaches and referees.
