On 9 October 2026 Basketball NSW's affiliated list had 81 associations across the state. This page groups 15 metropolitan Sydney associations, plus Macarthur, into five regions of our own, with each one's home venue and the name its representative (rep) teams play under. Choose by travel time and programs, and read the rep region and transfer rules first, because moving a rep player between associations is limited.
Last updated 9 October 2026.
Basketball NSW's Our Community page lists its official affiliated member associations. There were 81 on Basketball NSW's affiliated list on 9 October 2026, and its fees FAQ says it has grown to over 80. Basketball NSW tells families to find their closest association through the Where Can I Play link on its home page, then ask that association about its learn to play programs and competitions.
Basketball NSW does not group its list into Sydney regions. The five regions on this page are our own grouping, by where each association plays, to help with travel. This page covers 15 Sydney associations that have their own page in this guide, plus Macarthur. Others around the edges of Sydney are also on the Basketball NSW list, including Hawkesbury and District, Springwood and Blue Mountains. Teams named Hawkesbury Jets and Springwood Scorchers played in the 2026 grand finals of the Metro Junior League (MJL), one of Basketball NSW's Waratah junior representative leagues.
One recent change affects western Sydney families. Basketball NSW confirmed the affiliation of Parramatta Cumberland on 16 December 2025, and said the change closed West Sydney Wolves as a Basketball NSW member, with former Wolves members becoming members of the new association.
Three associations in this guide are in the north. Hornsby Ku-ring-gai's rep teams play home games at The Brickpit Sports Stadium in Thornleigh, the first venue on its playing venues page. Manly Warringah runs its Aussie Hoops program at the Northern Beaches Indoor Sports Centre in Warriewood. Northern Suburbs' competitions page says its sessions are held at the North Sydney Indoor Sports Centre in Crows Nest, which it describes as easy to get to from North Sydney, Lane Cove and Chatswood.
Four associations in this guide are in the Hills and the west. Hills says the Hills Basketball Stadium in Castle Hill is its primary venue, and calls its Hornets representative program one of the largest and most successful in NSW. City of Blacktown lists Kevin Betts Stadium, Mount Druitt, as its head office and the venue for Storm home games, with other venues at Stanhope Gardens and Emerton. Penrith's venues page lists six venues, five of them schools, including St Pauls Grammar at Cranebrook and Nepean High School at Emu Plains. Parramatta Cumberland says all its programs run at the Camellia Indoor Sports Centre.
City of Sydney says its Alexandria stadium is home to its Sydney Comets rep program, and that its players come from a wide area covering the eastern and south eastern suburbs, the inner city and the inner west. Bulls Basketball calls the RydeX Bull Pen in Ryde the spiritual home of the Bulls. It was originally the Ryde Bulls and is now known as Bulls Basketball or the Inner West Bulls. Marrickville Spirit is at 531 Illawarra Road, Marrickville, and fields junior representative teams from under 12 to under 18 in the Basketball NSW Waratah Metro League.
Two associations in this guide are in the south. St George runs its local competitions on weekdays, mostly at the Hurstville Aquatic Leisure Centre. Sutherland calls its four court Sutherland Basketball Stadium the main hub for its local basketball, and also uses Menai Indoor Sports Centre, Endeavour Sports High School and Heathcote High School.
Three associations in this guide are in the south west, plus Macarthur. Canterbury Bankstown Council lists the Bankstown Basketball Stadium at 1 Third Avenue, Condell Park, as home to the Bankstown Bruins, and Bankstown's rep page says its junior rep teams train there. Camden Valley is holding its 2027 rep trials at Thomas Hassall Anglican College in Middleton Grange, with under 16 boys trials at Oran Park Leisure Centre, and says it runs competitions throughout the Camden and Liverpool areas. Wollondilly holds its social training and games at the Wollondilly Leisure Centre in Picton. Its Razorbacks compete in the Barrengarry Conference and also field teams in the Southern Junior League, which Basketball NSW's 2027 rules list as a separate league from the Metro Junior League.
Macarthur Basketball is on Basketball NSW's affiliated list, but its website showed only a holding page saying a new site is coming soon when we checked on 9 October 2026, so we could not confirm its venue or programs. Basketball NSW's 2026 Metro Junior League finals program lists the Macarthur Heat in its past title holders tables, most recently for 2025. Contact the association directly, or ask Basketball NSW, for current details.
Start with travel. Basketball NSW says associations run their own competitions, so the one you join is where your child will play week to week, and the drive matters more than the name. Then look at what each one runs. Associations that enter rep teams must, under rule 26.3 of Basketball NSW's 2027 Waratah Junior League Rules of Operation (as at 21 September 2026), be able to support them with feeder programs, including domestic competitions.
If rep basketball is the goal, read the region rule. Rule 6 says players must play in a team from their own region, and must live in or board at a school in that region. Basketball NSW can consider a request to play outside the region case by case if the region has no team of the right age. Rule 27.3 also requires at least 80 percent of each Country Junior League team to live inside the association's recognised operating boundary. We found no equivalent residency percentage for Sydney's Metro teams in that document, and Hills and Northern Suburbs both run open trials for players from other associations.
Moving between associations has limits. Under rule 29, a player registered with one association needs an Intent to Trial form before trialling with another, and that form is not a clearance: a processed clearance is needed before playing. Rule 31 gives junior players open transfer rights, but the old association can deny or contest a clearance for unpaid fees, proven undue hardship, or a move that could help create a super team. Rule 30.11 says a player cannot represent more than one association in the same season unless Basketball NSW approves it on appeal.
Each rep team can take only a few transferred players: one in the Waratah State Championships and in Metro Junior League Divisions 1 and 2, and three in Division 3 and below, with no more than two from the same association. A player who did not play rep the previous season does not count toward that limit, with a maximum of one such free transfer per team, and an association can apply for one exempted player per team. Northern Suburbs puts it plainly on its trials page: an association can historically only accept one transfer per team.
Most Sydney associations enter their rep teams under a different name from the association itself, and that is the name you will see in Basketball NSW results and news. Sutherland's own rep FAQ explains it this way, giving the Norths Bears, Hornsby Spiders, Bankstown Bruins and Penrith Panthers as examples alongside its own Sutherland Sharks.
Basketball NSW's recap of the 2026 Metro Junior League grand finals, played at Hills Basketball Stadium on Sunday 26 July 2026 with 66 teams across four age groups, lists winners and runners up by rep name, such as Norths Bears Red and Sutherland Sharks 2. Parramatta Cumberland appears there as Parramatta Cumberland, while its own site now calls its rep teams the Cumberland Chargers.
| Association | Rep teams play as |
|---|---|
| Hornsby Ku-ring-gai | Spiders |
| Manly Warringah | Sea Eagles |
| Northern Suburbs | Norths Bears |
| Hills | Hornets |
| City of Blacktown | Storm |
| Penrith | Panthers |
| Parramatta Cumberland | Cumberland Chargers |
| City of Sydney | Comets |
| Bulls Basketball | Bulls (Inner West Bulls) |
| Marrickville Spirit | Spirit |
| St George | Saints |
| Sutherland | Sharks |
| Bankstown | Bruins |
| Camden Valley | Wildfire |
| Macarthur | Heat (in Basketball NSW past title holders to 2025) |
| Wollondilly | Razorbacks |
Not all Sydney basketball runs through Basketball NSW. Its fees FAQ says that without paying the State fee you cannot play at any of its affiliated associations, and that you may find a provider in your area that is not affiliated, in which case you should ask that provider what benefits it offers.
Two examples a Sydney parent may come across. Easts Basketball League describes itself as the home of hoops in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs, with junior basketball and social adult competitions. Liverpool Spartans, whose contact page names the Liverpool Basketball Association at the Whitlam Leisure Centre in Liverpool, offers junior programs for ages 5 to 16 and adult social competitions. Neither appeared on Basketball NSW's affiliated association list when we checked on 9 October 2026.
That matters most for representative basketball. Rule 4.1 of Basketball NSW's 2027 Waratah Junior League rules says only affiliated member associations approved by Basketball NSW and Basketball ACT may compete in the Waratah Junior Leagues, and rule 30.1 says every participant must be a registered Basketball NSW member through an affiliated association. If your child may want to trial for a rep team, ask any provider outside Basketball NSW how its players move into an affiliated association's program.
There were 81 associations on Basketball NSW's affiliated list on 9 October 2026, across the whole state. Basketball NSW does not split that list by region. This guide covers 15 metropolitan Sydney associations, plus Macarthur. Hawkesbury and District, Springwood and Blue Mountains are also on the list, and teams named Hawkesbury Jets and Springwood Scorchers played in the 2026 Metro Junior League grand finals.
For domestic basketball, Basketball NSW points families to their closest association, and we found no rule requiring you to use it, so ask the one you prefer whether it has a place. For rep, Basketball NSW's 2027 rules require players to play for a team in their own region and to live in or board at a school in it. Moving from another association needs an Intent to Trial form, a clearance, and a spot within the team's transfer limit.
Most associations enter rep teams under a separate team name, for example Northern Suburbs plays as the Norths Bears, St George as the Saints and Sutherland as the Sharks. Basketball NSW results use these rep names, so it helps to know both.
Easts Basketball League did not appear on Basketball NSW's affiliated association list when we checked on 9 October 2026. Basketball NSW says families can use providers that are not affiliated but should ask them what benefits they offer. Its 2027 rules allow only affiliated member associations, approved by Basketball NSW and Basketball ACT, to compete in the Waratah Junior Leagues.
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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 October 2026. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.
