VJBL Competition Restructure: 2025/26 Season
The Victorian Junior Basketball League (VJBL) has announced new changes to its competition structure for the upcoming 2025/26 VJBL Season.
Primarily, the introduction of the Regional League (RL) for U12 and U14 age groups*, to create a three-tiered divisional structure, all under the VJBL banner.
*This does not effect the U16 and U18 age groups.
Teams will be placed into divisions based on their performance during the Grading Phase - this remains the same.
However, the divisional structures have slightly changed, with the addition of the Regional League (RL), which will sit underneath Victorian Championship (VC) and Victorian Junior League (VJL).
Teams that are graded into the Regional League (RL) will be organised into Geographical Pools, based on the location of the association, that will reduce travel and provide a more balanced competition, relative the to level of the competition.
You can read the full document released from VJBL here.
So, what does this mean for the mckinnon cougars?
ALL U12 and U14 McKinnon Cougars teams will be entered into the Victorian Junior Basketball League (VJBL) and may fall into the Regional League (RL) dependent on each team’s performance during Grading Phase 1 & 2.
Regardless of where a McKinnon Cougars team falls during the Grading Phase the teams allocated training hours prior to the Grading Phase will not change.
The addition of the Regional League (RL) will replace the Regional Development League (RDL) - a pilot competition that the McKinnon Cougars entered teams into during the 2024/25 VJBL season.
We will still conduct our U10’s Future Cougars program, which the above does not affect - see more on this program here.
ready to register?
Registrations for the 2025/26 VJBL Season are NOW OPEN - registrations close on Sunday 14th September.
To learn more about our program prior to registering, check out the McKinnon Cougars VJBL Handbook.
You can find the Registration Link, the full Tryout Schedule and more information about the McKinnon Cougars VJBL Program by visiting the Tryout Portal below!
