Live stream: Catch almost 50 games from the Australian Country Junior Basketball Cup in Albury (Australian Country Junior Basketball Cup)

The Australian Country Junior Basketball is back after a two-year hiatus - and the huge Tasmanian contingent can’t wait to get started. Catch 48 games LIVE on KommunityTV from today.

Some players are preparing for their first appearance at the tournament, but Hobart young gun Chloe Broomhall already has fond memories of the Australian Junior Country Basketball Cup.

Three years ago, when the annual event at Albury-Wodonga was last held, the now 15-year-old was part of an all-Tasmanian under-14 girls final, which her team won.

They were the only non-Victorian team to claim an age group title - and the players didn’t know what to expect then in their debut campaign.

A similar situation presents itself for this year’s tournament after a two-year hiatus due to Covid. For the under-14 and under-16 Tasmanian players, this is their first taste of the event.

KommunityTV will exclusively LIVE STREAM 48 matches across two courts at the tournament, starting from Tuesday and concluding with eight playoff games on Saturday.

More than 600 juniors will compete across three age groups, including under-14, under-16 and under-18, with teams from NSW, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania and New Zealand involved.

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Broomhall will feature in one of two under-18 girls teams, with 14 Tasmanian teams in total featuring in under-14, under-16 and under-18 boys and girls divisions.

“It (two Tasmanian teams in final) was pretty exciting and also unexpected. Being under-14s (youngest age group at the event) we didn’t know what the competition was going to look like, but it turned out we did pretty well,” Broomhall said.

“(This year) we again don’t really know how it’s going to go. I’ve played in state teams, so some players (from rival teams) I’ll have played against there, but the level around the country would have improved a lot.”

Tasmania will be sending it’s biggest-ever representation to Albury. Pic: Nikki Davis-Jones

Broomhall said chances to represent the state were important for development and to keep players focused after two years of disruptions.

“It was a bit sad to not play because Country Cup is a really fun tournament, but you still got to play games in your own areas,” she said.

“It’s nerve-wracking because you don’t know what to expect from the other teams, but also exciting to see how you compete against them.

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“All the athletes are congregated together and hang out, it’s a good experience and a chance to make more friends and connections, learn off other athletes and watch them play.”

Basketball Tasmania’s development manager Nic Martin said the event is as much a life experience as it is about basketball.

“Yes, the Country Cup is great from a development point of view and it’s great to get exposed to high level competition, see where the athletes are at on the mainland, but bigger than that is the experience itself,” Martin said.

“For many athletes it could be the first time they’ve gone to the mainland for sport, away from mum and dad and it’s a great life experience.

“It’s not just about basketball development, it’s about developing resilience in the athletes. They’re going to go through some challenges through the week, but learn some life skills.

Jaxsyn Collins and Charlie Lennon are part of the U18 boys team.

“The tournament is perfect preparation for the athletes, because it’s the closest thing to simulating what the national championships is actually like.”

Martin said Basketball Tasmania was proud of their retention rate through the Covid period.

“This is the largest cohort we’ve ever taken (to Country Cup),” he said.

“To have those really high numbers and especially in the older girls’ age groups, it’s super pleasing to see we’ve been able to retain those athletes and they’re keen to progress their basketball.

“It’s super pleasing to see we’re getting some reward for the focus we’ve had in that area.

“Every sport has a big focus on that particular age group of girls and to keep them playing sport, as the statistics show it’s a pretty prominent age group to have some drop off.”

Martin said they’re approaching the tournament on a holistic basis.

“We don't’ have too many expectations from a win-loss point of view, and that’s not even really a KPI of ours,” he said.

Darcy Hickey, Khobe Speed and Hugh McCallum are heading to Albury.

“It’s more so do we play the right way, how do we carry ourselves from a behaviour point of view on and off the court, how do we handle the challenges and show some resilience.

“I wouldn’t say we’re going over there thinking, ‘they (current under-18 girls) did that in under-14s, they’ll do that again in under-18s’ but I guess the point is you never know when you get over there.

“We could surprise ourselves and it’s something we always say is we want to exceed our expectations.”

Originally published as Live stream: Catch almost 50 games from the Australian Country Junior Basketball Cup in Albury (Australian Country Junior Basketball Cup)