Every January, thousands of junior players head to Melbourne for the Eltham Dandenong Junior Basketball Tournament. We’d like to know whether Elite Development families would be keen to send a girls’ team in 2027. Nothing is booked. We’re simply asking who’s interested before the club looks into it any further.
What it is
The Eltham Dandenong Junior Basketball Tournament (EDJBT) is one of the longest-running and largest junior basketball tournaments in the world. It began in January 1974 with a handful of boys’ teams at Bulleen. A girls’ section started in 1977, and in 1996 the Eltham and Dandenong basketball associations joined forces to run it together.
It is big. In 2026 there were 1,954 teams: 1,727 from Victoria, 204 from interstate (22 of them from the ACT) and 23 from New Zealand. Teams are graded so they play others of a similar standard, from A grade (Victorian Championship level) through A Reserve, B and C grades, down to a domestic grade. It’s a popular way for teams to get some game time before the season starts.
- At least five games per team, and most teams make finals on the Monday.
- Age groups from Under 10 to Under 20 for girls (Under 12 is born 2016 or later, Under 14 born 2014 or later, and so on).
- Games are two 20-minute halves, with at least two hours between a team’s games.
When and where
Friday 22 to Monday 25 January 2027, in Melbourne, Victoria. Games start on the Friday from about 4pm, run all day Saturday and Sunday, and finals are on the Monday. Tuesday 26 January is Australia Day, so families can travel home on the public holiday.
Games are played at stadiums all over Melbourne. In 2026 they included Montmorency, Fitzroy North, Dandenong, the State Basketball Centre at Wantirna South, Craigieburn and Rowville. Each team’s venues aren’t known until the fixtures come out in mid-January, so you’ll need a car.
Looking further ahead, the 2028 tournament is on Friday 21 to Monday 24 January 2028.
How registration works
The club enters the team, not individual families. Team entry is $900 through PlayHQ: $300 when we register (not refundable) and $600 when PlayHQ sends a payment request in December. Entries close on 13 December 2026. Once the team is in, each player gets a PlayHQ link to register as part of it. A team can use up to 12 players in a game.
What it would involve
It’s interstate, so it’s a real commitment of time and money. Here is an honest picture.
School. The tournament is in the summer holidays. ACT public schools finish Term 4 on Friday 18 December 2026 and start Term 1 on Monday 1 February 2027 (new students) or Tuesday 2 February (continuing students), so no school is missed. Parents would probably need the Friday and the Monday off work.
Getting there. Melbourne is about 660 km from Canberra, roughly 7 to 8 hours’ drive each way. To be there for a Friday afternoon game, you’d leave early on Friday morning or drive down on the Thursday. Flying takes about an hour and a quarter, but you’d still need a hire car to get between stadiums.
Nights away. Three nights (Friday, Saturday and Sunday), or four if you stay on Monday night and drive home on Australia Day.
Rough costs for one parent and one player. These are estimates only, as of October 2026, to help you decide whether it’s worth looking into. Real prices depend on when you book and how you travel.
Driving Flying
Travel $250–$350 fuel and tolls (per car) $500–$900 return flights for two, plus $250–$450 car hire
Accommodation, 3 nights $600–$1,050 $600–$1,050
Share of the $900 team entry $75–$115 (8 to 12 players) $75–$115
Food and extras $250–$400 $250–$400
Roughly $1,200–$1,900 $1,700–$2,900
Sharing a car or an apartment with another family brings this down a lot. A team would also need a coach and a team manager to travel, and we’d work out how their costs are shared before anyone commits.
Are you interested?
If you’re interested, let the club know and we’ll add you to the list. We need at least eight interested players in the same age group (ten is better) before we look into it further. Saying you’re interested is not a commitment.
Send us an enquiry: choose “Juniors – Girls” and write “Interested in the Eltham Dandenong Tournament 2027”. Please include your player’s name and age group, and whether you’d be more likely to drive or fly. Let us know by Friday 20 November 2026, so there’s time to enter a team before entries close.
Want to read more first? The tournament’s own website is edjbt.com.au.
Illustrations: Elite Development.
