In a year where four Australian teams competed across the Olympics and Paralympics, basketball continues to boom at junior level according to statistics released by the Australian Sports Commission.
AusPlay, an annual national survey conducted by the Australian Sports Commission, tracks over 600 different sports and activities to determine participation and numbers.
The latest data was compiled from more than 40,000 surveys completed online.
Basketball is the most popular team sport, alongside soccer, for 15 to 24-year-olds followed by tennis and netball and third for participation for 5 to 14-year-olds behind swimming and soccer.
Participation in basketball remains significantly higher with males across all age groups, a statistic that is the focus of Basketball Australia initiatives such as She Hoops which works tirelessly to make our sport more accessible and inclusive to women and girls.
She Hoops is targeting a number of areas to increase participation including holiday camps for girls, mentoring, free events and leaderships scholarships.
With the Seven Consulting Australian Opals winning an Olympic bronze medal in Paris, there has never been a better time to build on momentum and grow female participation and with initiatives including girls-only Aussie Hoops programs run in a number of the states there is a renewed focus on growing this number.
A record number of entries headlines the Footlocker Australian School Championships that will take place on the Gold Coast in December with a bumper 216 schools set to compete.
With WNBL and NBL seasons in action domestically plus a plethora of Australians playing in the NBA and throughout Europe, basketball remains front and centre.
