The EDJBA is a junior basketball competition covering Melbourne's eastern suburbs, made up of 22 member clubs from Balwyn and Hawthorn out to Warrandyte and Doreen. It runs distinctive junior rules including a no zone defence policy and a mercy rule.
Written by Cameron James, founder and head coach at Liddicoat Basketball. Coaching juniors in Victoria for nearly a decade.
Last updated August 2026.
EDJBA stands for the Eastern Districts Junior Basketball Association. It's a junior competition rather than a single club or association, which is the part that confuses people.
Your child joins a club. The club enters teams into the EDJBA competition. So a family can correctly say their kid plays for the Balwyn Blazers and plays in the EDJBA, and both are true at once.
Across Melbourne's eastern suburbs, spanning Balwyn, Banyule, Blackburn, Bulleen, Collingwood, Darebin, Doncaster, Doreen, Eltham, Fairfield, Greenhills, Hawthorn, Ivanhoe, Koonung, Mill Park, Mitcham, Park Orchards, Pascoe Vale, Warrandyte, Whitehorse and Yarra.
There are 22 member clubs. Which one your child plays for is usually decided by where you live and which has room in the age group.
Balwyn Blazers, Banyule Hawks, Blackburn Vikings, Bulleen Boomers, Collingwood All Stars, Darebin Giants, Doncaster, Doreen Cougars, Eltham Wildcats, Fairfield Shooters, Greenhills, Hawthorn Magic, Ivanhoe Knights, Koonung Comets, Mill Park Titans, Mitcham Thunder, Park Orchards Steelers, Pascoe Vale Panthers, Warrandyte Redbacks, Whitehorse Mustangs and Yarra Eagles.
The EDJBA runs modified rules, and these are worth understanding because they change how your child is coached.
Teams must defend player to player rather than sitting in a zone. It stops a game being decided by one tall kid parking under the ring, and it forces every child to learn to defend properly.
For a parent watching, it means if your child is standing in the key guarding nobody, that's against the rules, not a tactic.
A cap on how far a scoreline is allowed to run away. Blowouts don't get run up, which matters when age groups are graded and a mismatch happens.
The EDJBA operates a concussion policy. If your child takes a knock to the head, expect it to be taken seriously and expect a return to play process rather than being waved back on.
The EDJBA uses a points based grading process to place teams into divisions. The aim is even competition, so teams end up playing others of similar standard rather than being fixed by club reputation.
That means a strong club can have teams across several divisions, and a team can move between seasons.
The EDJBA runs both summer and winter seasons, with dates published each year. Because the two roll into each other, plenty of families end up playing close to year round without ever quite deciding to.
The EDJBA office is at Level G, 156 Parker Street, Templestowe VIC 3106, on (03) 9846 7116.
In practice most parent questions go to your club rather than the association, because the club handles registration, uniforms and which team your child is in.
The Eastern Districts Junior Basketball Association, a junior basketball competition covering Melbourne's eastern suburbs.
22 member clubs, spanning from Balwyn and Hawthorn out to Warrandyte and Doreen.
The EDJBA runs a no zone defence policy so teams must defend player to player. It stops games being decided by one tall player standing under the ring, and makes every child learn to defend.
A rule that caps how far a scoreline runs away, so blowouts don't get run up. It matters most when grading has produced a mismatch.
Level G, 156 Parker Street, Templestowe VIC 3106. Phone (03) 9846 7116.
Next questions parents ask
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One game and one training a week. I build the plan for the other six days and check in every week.