U20 & Ivor Burge Championships History

About The U20's

The U20 Men's Championship was first held in 1974 when Victoria Metro won the title, the Women's Championship was introduced in 1981 with South Australia taking out the first Championship.

Teams representing each state compete for the title of national champion each year.

At the National U20 Championships the Bob Staunton Medal is awarded to the most outstanding male and female player. In 1991 the award was named to honour the memory of Bob Staunton and his contribution to Australian basketball as both a player and an administrator.

Many basketballers have represented their state at the U20 National or Ivor Burge Championships and gone on to represent Australia on the international stage including Boomer Patrick Mills and Brad Newley and Opals Lauren Jackson and Erin Phillips.

About The Ivor Burge Championships

The Australian Basketball team for People with an Intellectual Disability made their international debut at the 1992 Paralympic Games in Barcelona.

Both Men and Women's teams competed in the event; the Women won the Gold Medal and the Men finished sixth. It was the first Gold medal won by an Australian National Team in Basketball at any international event.

After such a successful Paralympic campaign the Australian Sports & Recreation Association for People with an Intellectual Disability (AUSRAPID), together with Basketball Australia, created the Ivor Burge Championship.

It was decided to title the Tournament the Ivor Burge Championship as Ivor Burge is considered one of the founding fathers of Basketball in this country. Although he went to college in Springfield, Massachusetts, after graduating he came back to Australia to promote the game further.

Burge produced the first standardised rulebook for the sport in October 1928, and founded the Victorian Basketball Association in 1931. He continued to help promote Basketball in Victoria through his position with the YMCA until 1940.

In 1941, he became the inaugural Director if Physical Education at the University of Queensland. In 1946 Burge was involved in the writing of the Constitution of Basketball Australia and founded the Queensland Amateur Basketball Association. He was appointed the Associations first President, a position he held until 1954.

In 1992, he was awarded life membership of the Australian Basketball Federation and in 2004 was an inaugural inductee into the Baksetball Australia Hall of Fame.

The inaugural Ivor Burge championship was held in Wollongong in 1995 when Victoria won Gold in both the Men's and Women's divisions.

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The Bob Staunton Medal

Bob Staunton, a name recognised throughout this country for his tremendous contribution to junior basketball in Australia in all areas of the sport including coaching and administration.

This medal is awarded to the most outstanding male and female player at the annual National Under 20 Championships. The Bob Staunton awarded was named to honour the memory of Bob Staunton and his contribution to Australian basketball.

Staunton represented NSW as a player and participated in the first basketball game to be televised in Australia. From 1975-1980 he was the Manager of the Australian Senior Mens Team and he also served for many years as the Secretary General of the Australian Basketball Federation.

During his time at the ABF Staunton helped to establish the Australian Junior Championships, the National Youth Teams and the Australian Institute of Sport basketball program and he was inducted into the Basketball Australia Hall of Fame in 2006 for his efforts.

A number of notable Australian junior basketballers have been recognised with the Bob Staunton medal at the National U20 Championships including six current Opals squad members and two current Australian Boomers.

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History

Past winners of the U20 & Ivor Burge Championships:

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Past Recipients of The Bob Staunton Award

U20 Men

2003 - Damian Martin
2004 - Brad Newley
2005 - Stephen Weigh
2006 - Patrick Mills
2007 - Patrick Mills
2008 - Ryan Broekhoff
2009 - Jorden Page
2010 - Corey Maynard
2011 - Mitchell Creek
2012 - Venky Jois
2013 - Dante Exum
2014 - Jack McVeigh
2015 - Dejan Vasiljevic
2016 - Tom Wilson

U20 Women

2003 - Kelly Wilson
2004 - Erin Phillips
2005 - Kathleen McLeod
2006 - Rebecca Duke
2007 - Nicole Hunt
2008 - Cayla Francis
2009 - Tess Madgen
2010 - Nicole Seekamp
2011 - Rebecca Cole
2012 - Sara Blicavs
2013 - Alex Wilson
2014 - Lauren Scherf
2015 - Alanna Smith
2016 - Alexandra Sharp

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