Tournament a slam dunk for Colac traders

Published on 18 February 2025

Thousands of visitors are heading for Colac for two bumper weekends of basketball, presenting ideal trading conditions for local businesses.

Colac Basketball Association will host the Bulla Colac Classic, with an under-16 and under-18 tournament on 22 and 23 February, and under-12s and under-14s on March 1 and 2.

Council’s General Manager Community and Economy Ian Seuren said the tournament would bring economic benefits to Colac, with teams and supporters booking accommodation, shopping and visiting hospitality businesses.

“We encourage businesses to make the most of the thousands of visitors in Colac,” Mr Seuren said.

“Hundreds of families will be in Colac for a weekend of basketball fun, but they’ll also be looking for things to do in their downtime,” he said.

“We will have an influx of people looking to spend money at retail and hospitality businesses that open across the weekend. This is a perfect opportunity to showcase Colac as a fantastic destination for shopping, dining, leisure and sport.”

“Other towns like Hamilton and Horsham do it quite well with key retail and hospitality businesses opening on the Saturday afternoon and Sunday.”

Mr Seuren praised the work of the Colac Basketball Association in organising the successful tournament every year.

Colac Basketball Association president Robert Elborough said about 80 teams had registered for the first weekend of the tournament, with up to 100 on the second weekend.

He said that would bring about 1600 people to Colac each weekend, including players, families and officials.

Teams will travel from across western Victoria including Portland, Hamilton, Horsham, Warrnambool, Warracknabeal, Geelong and as far away as Maffra in Gippsland.

Mr Elborough said teams often booked accommodation in Colac for the Friday and Saturday nights and stayed around until late Sunday afternoon.

He said the visitors would gravitate towards central Colac during their breaks, visiting shops and eateries.

“Across those weekends, accommodation becomes quite tight and the eateries become quite full,” Mr Elborough said.

“They end up going for a browse and supporting local businesses,” he said.

“It certainly looks busy when you get down the street. There’s more foot traffic.”

Games will be at Bluewater as well as stadiums at Trinity College, Colac Primary School and Camperdown, with majority of the finals at Bluewater.

Mr Elborough said teams used the Colac tournament as preparation for Country Championships, and as a development opportunity for players.

"They get a range of competitive games, have a lot of court time, it’s enjoyable. Plus, they get to see our part of Victoria.”

Mr Elborough paid tribute to the volunteers who worked tirelessly to organise the Bulla Colac Classic.

“It is a lot of people putting in a lot of time getting basketball happening in Colac,” he said.