Warrnambool Mermaids under 14s set sail for National Junior Classic in Melbourne

The Mermaids will contest the Kumon National Junior Classic over the long weekend, and are the sole regional Victoria club to receive an invite in their age group, after going undefeated to win the Basketball Victoria Country Championships in April.

The squad will compete against eight of the best metro Melbourne teams, as well as four Sydney and three Adelaide-based rosters.

Mermaids coach Shane Smith said the opportunity would teach his team, consisting of Indi O'Connor, Chloe Gleeson, Milan Clark, Rosie Bowman, Sophie Smith, Zoe Dobson, Stella Marris, Paige Leneham, Emma Hill and Annika Baker, how to adapt and play against stronger teams.

"The level of competition is certainly higher than regional areas," Smith said. "(The team) got an invite through winning the Country Championships, which is a great achievement.

"And now they get to play against the best teams in Australia.

"When you've got a great skill level, to play the best is always the way you get the best out of yourself. "We look forward to the challenge."

Team captain Indi O'Connor, 12 is also excited at the chance to play basketball and spend time with friends this weekend.

"Mostly I'm looking forward to playing some of the best and challenging us to see how far we can go," she said.

Playing the sport for four years, the Emmanuel College student is enjoying her current season with the team, which has dropped just one game.

"We've been pretty good," she said. "As well as going to tournaments, we've made it fun. Hanging out with each other in the times we're not playing in games."

With several members attending the same college, O'Connor, who can play both big and as a guard, said the team had developed a tight-knitted bond.

Smith said the Mermaids would use the National Junior Classic as preparation for the Australian Junior Club Championships in Sydney later this year, which it also qualified for through the Country Championships.

"This (National Junior Classic) is almost the lead in to those championships," he said. "It will be a lot of similar teams but also others from around Australia.

"We've had a couple practice games, and this is usually a tough hit out. It's been a while since we played the country championships.

"Our season is based on tournaments which finish in April, while a lot of metro teams have a regular competition every week.

"But the girls are ready for it and will do us proud."

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content:

Now just one tap with our new app: Digital subscribers now have the convenience of faster news, right at your fingertips with The Standard: