Ballarat’s sporting facilities showcased during array of Summer events

January 7, 2025

Aquatics / Events / Sport / Venues /

Ballarat is set to host seven different sporting events showcasing the city's impressive facilities and anticipated to attract thousands of visitors.

The diverse mixture features traditional sports such as cricket, lawn bowls and basketball, with others that people might not be as familiar with, including underwater hockey, canoe polo and disc golf.

All events are supported by the City of Ballarat and will be held over four action-packed weeks.

In total, the events will bring about 2000 competitors to Ballarat plus families, friends and supporters, with many staying for up to a week.

City of Ballarat Mayor, Tracey Hargreaves enthused "we are thrilled to be able host these sporting events over the summer school holiday period as Ballarat becomes a hive of activity.

"We have invested heavily in sport over many years to not only benefit our local clubs and athletes, but also make our facilities attractive options to host events like these.

"Having thousands of additional visitors in the city will provide a welcome boost to many of our hospitality and accommodation businesses."

The action will begin on Friday, 6th January with the Cricket Australia Under 16 Women's Cricket Championships, concluding with the Basketball Australia Under 20 National Championships, which runs from Tuesday 28th January to Sunday 2nd February.

Ballarat's blockbuster January of sports

Cricket Australia Under 16 Women's Cricket Championship, 6th-13th January
The event will pit state against state and bring more than 200 competitors, plus coaches, officials and spectators to the city over eight days.

All matches will be played on turf wickets, including: Eastern Oval, Frank Bourke Oval, CE Brown Reserve, Alfredton Reserve, Western Oval, Mt Clear Recreation Reserve, Buninyong Community Facility, Russell Square, and St Patrick's College.

The Ballarat Cricket Association will play a crucial role in supporting the championships along with local cricket clubs East Ballarat, Mt Clear, Ballarat-Redan, Buninyong, Golden Point, North Ballarat, Wendouree, and Brown Hill.

Bowls Victoria Region Sides Bowls Championships, 10th-12th January
More than 200 bowlers from around Victoria will converge on Ballarat, each vying to be crowned state champions.

The event will include 16 regions from around the state, with each region selecting a representative team of 14 players to compete across the three days.

The host venues are Sebastopol Bowls Club, Webbcona Bowls Club, Victoria Bowling Club, and Central Wendouree Bowling Club.

Disc Golf - Golden City Classic, 11th and 12th January
The two-day event is one of the biggest disc golf tournaments hosted throughout Australia.

The Golden City Classic will see about 160 competitors take to the two disc golf courses in Ballarat.

Day one will be hosted at the Victoria Park Disc Golf Course, with day two to be held at the new Mt Xavier Disc Golf Course.

Australian Underwater Hockey National Championships, 12th-19th January
To be hosted at the Ballarat Aquatic and Lifestyle Centre, this event is the highest-level competition within Australia for underwater hockey.

But what is underwater hockey? Well, it is exactly as it sounds. Most of the action takes place at the bottom of the pool, with competing teams trying to score as many goals as possible without using a breathing apparatus.

The event will involve round robin and finals in both senior and junior divisions, involving about 250 competitors.

The Ballarat Regatta, 18th January
About 650 rowers will take to Lake Wendouree, with school and club crews from throughout Victoria competing.

The event is the first of a busy weekend on the water for the lake.

Canoe Polo Victorian Interclub, 19th January
Canoe Polo will return to Lake Wendouree for just the second time, following the staging of the National Canoe Polo Championships in April 2023.

Canoe Polo is essentially a highly-physical version of water polo only with players competing in canoes.

This event is round four of the Victorian Canoe Polo Interclub competition and is expecting about 80 competitors from across Victoria.

Basketball Australia Under 20 National Championships, 28^th Jan-2nd February
Selkirk Stadium is set to host some of Australia's most promising basketballers during the Under 20 and Ivor Burge National Championships.

The Under 20 championships will showcase the next generation of professional basketballers, while the Ivor Burge championships are for athletes with an intellectual disability to represent their state and vie for a national title.

Across the championships we can expect to see 336 athletes competing, with more than 3500 people attending the championships.

Image top. Canoe Polo Victoria. Credit: Paddle Vic; image above Credit: Sebastopol Bowls Club

13th December 2024 - Ballarat Marathon named host of inaugural Australian Road Mile Championships

11th December 2024 - Ballarat Aquatic and Lifestyle Centre to mark 30 years of operations

30th August 2024 - Ballarat Council adopts recreation and park infrastructure plans

12th August 2024 - New synthetic green secured for Ballarat’s City Oval Bowling Club

3rd August 2024 - New athletics track among facility upgrades for Ballarat

18th July 2024 - Ballarat Aquatic and Lifestyle Centre to undergo major accessibility upgrade

12th July 2024 - Ballarat Aquatic and Lifestyle Centre among Victorian Regional Sporting Facilities to receive financial boost

14th June 2024 - Ballarat to host School Sport Australia Games

16th January 2024 - City of Ballarat funds Hockey facility redevelopment at Prince of Wales Park

Support our industry news service
We hope that you value the news that we publish so while you're here can we ask for your support?

As an independent publisher, we need reader support for our industry news gathering so ask that - if you don't already do so - you back us by subscribing to the printed Australasian Leisure Management magazine and/or our online news.