VJBL teams are graded into divisions. Victorian Championship, shortened to VC, is the top tier and only around 20 teams statewide make it in each age and gender group. Below that sit Victorian Junior League divisions, VJL1, VJL2, VJL3 and so on, usually about ten teams each.
Written by Cameron James, founder and head coach at Liddicoat Basketball. Coaching juniors in Victoria for nearly a decade.
Last updated August 2026.
Every rep team is graded into a division. The division is set per age group and gender, so an association can have a VC Under 14 girls team and a VJL3 Under 14 boys team in the same season.
| Division | Short for | Roughly how many teams |
|---|---|---|
| Victorian Championship | VC | About 20 statewide per age and gender group |
| Victorian Junior League 1 | VJL1 | Usually about 10 |
| Victorian Junior League 2 | VJL2 | Usually about 10 |
| Victorian Junior League 3 | VJL3 | Usually about 10 |
| Victorian Junior League 4 and below | VJL4 | Usually about 10 |
A division is a grading of the team, not a verdict on your child.
A player can sit in a VJL3 team at an association with deep numbers and be stronger than a VC player at a smaller one. The division reflects the standard of the competition the team was placed in, which is affected by how many players that association had trying out that year.
Grading is reviewed, so a team can go up or down between seasons based on results. A child who makes VJL2 one year isn't fixed there.
Teams are placed into divisions rather than players. An association nominates its teams, and the league places each one where it thinks the competition will be even.
That means the strength of your child's division is partly a function of how many kids tried out at your association that year. A big association with four teams in an age group will spread talent differently to a small one with a single team.
They lose, often heavily, for a season. Some kids handle that and improve fast against better opposition. Others stop wanting to go. It's worth watching which one your child is rather than assuming a higher division is automatically better for them.
They win comfortably and stop being pushed. It looks great on a ladder and does very little for development. Coaches usually flag this and the team gets regraded upward the following season.
Victorian Championship is the top of the junior tree, and with around 20 teams statewide per age and gender group, most players will never be in one. That's normal and it's not a verdict on a child.
A VC team generally travels further, trains more seriously, and expects year round work. If your child is in one, the plan for the other six days of the week matters more, not less.
VC stands for Victorian Championship, the top division of the VJBL. Only around 20 teams across the whole state make it in each age and gender group.
Yes. VJL1 is the division directly below Victorian Championship, so a VJL1 team is playing well above domestic standard. The numbering runs downward, so VJL1 is stronger than VJL2.
Yes. Grading is reviewed between seasons, so teams move up and down based on results and on how the association's numbers change year to year.
Next questions parents ask
Every competition in this guide
Grading follows habits, and habits are built between seasons. That is exactly what the weekly plan is for.