Mounthawk was pure Christmas mayhem in the best possible way as our Tralee Magic Jamboree took over the hall – no fixtures, no scoreboards, just kids in Christmas jumpers living their best lives and running wild with their friends.

Our Academy and underage players mixed right in together, turning the court into a blur of Santa hats, reindeer antlers and glittery knits. Instead of structured games, it was all about fun – kids dashing from one end of the hall to the other, shooting around, chasing each other, hanging out on the sidelines and soaking up that end-of-year buzz that only club basketball can bring.

It was brilliant to see so many parents and siblings stay on for the evening too. The sideline chat was flowing, younger brothers and sisters joined the chaos, and there was a real sense of everyone just slowing down for a couple of hours to enjoy being part of the club.

Santa himself took a break from North Pole operations to spend time with the Magic. He made his way around the hall, chatting, laughing and posing for photos – and judging by his smile, he was enjoying the break as much as the kids.

On the court, there was even a touch of showtime as Jako dropped in some crowd-pleasing trick shots that had the kids roaring...that dunk though!

Our bake sale table was absolutely heaving with homemade treats – buns, brownies, traybakes and biscuits of every kind. A few families claimed they were bringing them home for the Toy Show… but most didn’t make it that far. Too tempting, and too tasty.

The raffle brought an extra layer of excitement, with plenty of brilliant prizes on offer. Huge congratulations to Catherine Fitzmaurice, one of our U12 mums, who won the top prize of a hotel stay for two at Castleknock Hotel. Word on the sideline is that the U12 is not getting an invite on this mini-break – and honestly, who could blame her?

Events like this don’t just happen. A massive thank you to our amazing team of TY students who worked away all evening, our coaches who always bring the energy, our team managers who keep everything organised, and all our volunteers who step in wherever they’re needed.

Nights like the Christmas Jamboree remind us what Tralee Magic is all about – kids feeling free to be themselves, families feeling like they belong, and a club that keeps the fun at the heart of everything we do.

This club is Magic. 💙