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. Over a decade coaching junior basketball in Melbourne, including at Big V level, and rep teams from Under 12s through to Under 18s.
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.
For a long time the VJBL had two tiers. Victorian Championship at the top, then Victorian Junior League graded into numbered divisions below it. The 2026 restructure added a third tier underneath both of them, called Regional League, usually shortened to RL.
Regional League replaced the Regional Development League, which was run as a pilot in 2025. The important difference for a parent is that the pilot had no grading phase and Regional League does. Teams are graded into it the same way they are graded anywhere else in the VJBL.
The other thing worth knowing is how it is organised. Regional League competitions are arranged into geographic pools rather than played out across the whole state, which is a deliberate attempt to cut travel. If the drive is what has been putting you off rep basketball, this is the tier where that is least of a problem.
Which divisions exist depends on the age group, and the bands have moved as the restructure has bedded in. Under 12 and Under 14 have carried the widest spread of VJL divisions plus Regional League beneath them. Do not treat any published band as fixed. What your child is actually eligible for is confirmed at grading each season, by the association, not before it.
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
Facts on this page were compiled from the official sources below and written up in our own words. Dates, fees and venues change every season, so confirm anything you are relying on with the association directly.
This page was last updated August 2026. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.
Tryout windows, grading, key dates and what each level actually costs. Written for Victorian basketball parents, sent when something matters, not every week.