The Ivanhoe Knights Basketball Club is a friendly, welcoming, family-focused club based in Melbourne’s north-east. Our players come from the suburbs of Clifton Hill, Fairfield, Thornbury, Northcote, Preston, Alphington, Eaglemont, Ivanhoe, Heidelberg, Viewbank, Kew East, Balwyn North and further afield.
Knights players range in age from 7 to 19 and play in the Eastern Districts Junior Basketball Association (EDJBA). The club fields about 170 teams per season and is run by a committee of volunteers.
Games are played at various times and locations on Saturdays and each team has a one-hour mid-week training session. We also run introductory and skills clinics and have an outreach program in local primary schools.
The club’s philosophy is based on pleasure and participation, not ‘win at all costs’.
Home venues
The Ivanhoe Knights home venues are:
- Ivanhoe East Primary School SPACE Centre, 35 Warncliffe Road, East Ivanhoe
- La Trobe University, La Trobe Sports Complex, Kingsbury Drive, Bundoora (Car park CP1 & CP2, cross pedestrian crossing and enter via the main reception foyer area)
- Alphington Grammar School, 18 Old Heidelberg Rd, Alphington VIC 3078
The club provides a venue manager for games at its home venues. The manager supervises players and visitors conduct in the venue and manages the running of the games in our venues.
All those who attend games, including spectators, are required to observe the EDJBA Code of Conduct (read it here).
Training venues
We currently train at the following venues:
- Ivanhoe East Primary School SPACE Centre, 35 Warncliffe Road, East Ivanhoe (see map)
- Ivanhoe Grammar School, 40 The Ridgeway, Ivanhoe (see map)
- La Trobe University, La Trobe Sports Complex, Kingsbury Drive, Bundoora:
Car park CP1 & CP2, cross the pedestrian crossing and enter via the main reception foyer area) (see map)
- Thornbury High School, 238 Collins Street, Thornbury (see map)
- Alphington Primary School, 26 Yarralea Street, Alphington (see map)
- Alphington Grammar School, 18 Old Heidelberg Rd, Alphington
If you have a problem accessing a particular venue please contact the appropriate club representative listed in the Training venue procedures section.
Venues at other clubs
The addresses of other EDJBA home venue addresses are available on the EDJBA website here.
Home venue: Ivanhoe East Primary School
Home venue: La Trobe Sports Complex
Home venue: Alphington Grammar School
HISTORY OF OUR CLUB
1977
As the winter of 1977 drew to a close, a group of local boys who had just enjoyed a season of hockey began to look for a summer sport. The parent of one of them, Graeme Gibbons, suggested basketball to a bunch of eager nine-year-olds.
Graeme entered and coached the new team in the Eastern District Junior Basketball Association (EDJBA) U10 competition. They got off to a slow start: 83 points for the season, compared to 519 for their opponents and finished in last position on the ladder. It didn’t take long for word to spread around Ivanhoe East Primary School. The Club was nomadic in those days, but with increasing interest and the need to develop an identity, it took over management of the Rosanna East High School centre as a home venue.
1983
By 1983 the Club was fielding eleven teams. The small group of parents who devoted enormous amounts of time to promoting the idea of a game and a club which would develop children’s skills and enjoyment within a community environment also dreamed of a centre close to home which would encourage those aims.
The Ivanhoe East Special Purpose and Creative Education (SPACE) Centre was opened by the Premier, The Hon. John Cain at Ivanhoe East Primary School in 1983. The Ivanhoe East Junior Basketball Club became its first tenant.
1985
In 1985, Graeme and four of his original team members won the U17A reserve premiership, collecting a number of flags along the way.
1990
With a ‘home ground’ advantage, the club expanded quickly. By the start of 1990, the club was fielding almost 50 teams from the ages of 6 to 18 and all standards from A grade to D grade. Soon, it expanded into venues at the then Ivanhoe Boys Grammar School and Ivanhoe Girls Grammar School.
1999
In 1999, the Club welcomed a merger with the smaller Fairfield Basketball Club.
2011
In November 2011, the club voted at the AGM to change its name from the ‘Ivanhoe East Basketball Club” to the ‘Ivanhoe Knights Basketball Club’, to better reflect the demographic and branding of the club.
December 2011 saw the closure of the basketball stadium at Banksia Secondary College by the Victorian Department of Education and Early Childhood Development. The stadium contained two courts used extensively by the club for mid-week team training and matches.
2016
In 2016 the Club negotiated a collaboration with the Banyule Giants to form the Ivanhoe Darebin Basketball Association. The new body provided an improved pathway for members of both clubs who wanted to take their basketball to the next level and play representative basketball. It also included capacity for adult competitions.
Today, the Club provides sporting activity for a great many children, and is also an avenue for leadership opportunities for young people, many of whom referee and coach teams. In this way, the community spirit of one individual has developed into a major community organisation within the Ivanhoe and broader north-eastern metropolitan area.
2023
In 2023 the Club reached record numbers with 1350 players registered for the EDJBA Summer Season. The club also runs many development programs for players wanting to further extend their skills within the sport.