The squads from Inverell, Armidale, Gunnedah and Tamworth went face-to-face at the Gipps street fields.

While these 59 athletes had already had a fair fight just to make it into their respective squads, they’re now battling for a spot to go on tour. 

The Northern Inland Academy of Sport will take two teams, with about 30 athletes plus coaches up to the Gold Coast at the end of September for the Gold Coast Champions Cup tournament.

This is an international event with teams competing from New Zealand and the United States.

It is an outstanding opportunity for the NIAS athletes to play against high quality opponents. They will be exposed to game styles, strategies and skill sets that they have not experienced before. This kind of exposure can have incredible effects on young athletes and help them develop their own abilities.

NIAS CEO James Cooper says they’ve specifically targeted this event for its international exposure and the development potential that a tour like this can offer.

“We haven’t sent athletes to this competition before but the exposure it offers our under 13/14 athletes and the potential for development is too good to say no to,” Cooper said.

“We’ve looked right around Australia for touring opportunities and this event looks like it will give the most back to our athletes.”

These tournaments can also give the athletes perspective on where they stand in the larger picture.

Inverell head coach Peter Browett said, “It’s one thing to be a big fish in our regional pond but the pond gets pretty large when you attend these tournaments.”

“These players are generally reflective and take these opportunities to find the areas of their game that they can improve, more often than not these tournaments serve to invigorate the talented players,” Browett said.

This will be the second tour NIAS offers their athletes. The first is on July 28 where all athletes in the program will head to Sydney. They’ll play games against Newington College and other Sydney based teams.

 ATHLETE PROFILE: Connor Watt

Sport? Basketball

Position? I generally play centre or forward. 

Age? 14

Expectations for the NIAS program? I’ve had some unbelievable opportunities with NIAS, including the tour of NZ in 2017, visit to Newington College in Sydney for tour, coaching and games and also participating in the Academy Games. These have all greatly impacted my love of the sport.

Highest Achievement? Gold medals at both the U14 National Championships Shield Division and the 2018 Australian Junior Country Basketball Championships. I have also been recently selected to play for NSW at the U16 National Basketball Championships in July.

Goals? The dream would be to attend college in the U.S.