As Tralee Magic continues to mark 25 years of basketball in Tralee, our U16 girls take over the gym for two days of tournament basketball, with the Division 3 girls on court on Saturday and the Division 1 girls following on Sunday.

That's two Magic teams, two different competitions and a lot of basketball.

Saturday: U16 Division 3 Blitz

The weekend begins on Saturday afternoon when our U16 Division 3 girls welcome St Brendan’s and Glenbeigh Falcons to Mounthawk.

Magic get things underway against St Brendan’s at 1pm, before St Brendan’s face Glenbeigh Falcons at 1.50pm. Our girls are back on court at 2.40pm against Glenbeigh, completing the round-robin stage.

The top team from those games earns a direct place in the final, while second and third meet in the 3.30pm semi-final for the other spot. The final tips at 4.20pm, so there is something riding on every game from the first ball up.

For this group, it is a really useful afternoon of basketball: different opposition, several games in a short window and the chance to deal with the little adjustments tournament basketball demands — learning from one game and having to put it right in the next.

Sunday: U16 Division 1 Invitational

Then we reset the scoreboard and do it all again.

On Sunday our U16 Division 1 girls welcome St Brendan’s, St Bridget’s and Limerick Celtics for a four-team invitational, with six round-robin games before the afternoon finals.

Magic open the day against St Brendan’s at 9.30am, before St Bridget’s and Limerick Celtics take the floor at 10.30am. Our girls are back at 11.30am against St Bridget’s, with their final round-robin game coming against Limerick Celtics at 1.30pm.

The other games see St Brendan’s face Limerick Celtics 12.30pm and St Brendan’s meet St Bridget’s at 2.30pm.

By then every team will have played everybody else, and the standings will set up the final two games of the weekend. Third and fourth contest the Plate Final at 3.30pm, while first and second meet in the Cup Final at 4.30pm.

It is a format that should make for an interesting day. There is no hiding in a round robin — teams have to adapt to three different opponents, manage the gaps between games and keep competing because every result feeds directly into where they finish.

Across the two days, that means two groups of Tralee Magic girls getting the opportunity to compete and improve on their home floor.

There will be plenty of time over the coming months to look backwards at the teams, coaches, national titles and people who have shaped Tralee Magic since 2001. But this weekend is the other half of the story.

It's for the girls turning up to training every week, learning how to compete, figuring out how to be teammates and gradually becoming the players that the younger Magic kids will one day watch from the sideline.

We’re looking forward to welcoming St Brendan’s, Glenbeigh Falcons, St Bridget’s and Limerick Celtics, along with their coaches, families and supporters, to Mounthawk.

We’d also love our own club members to drop in over the weekend. Wear the Magic blue, bring the younger players, make a bit of noise and give both of our U16 teams a proper home-court crowd. 💙

SATURDAY 19 SEPTEMBER
🏀 U16 Girls Division 3 Blitz
📍 Mounthawk School Gym
⏰ First game 1.00pm | Final 4.20pm

SUNDAY 20 SEPTEMBER
🏀 U16 Girls Division 1 Invitational Tournament
📍 Mounthawk School Gym
⏰ First game 9.30am | Cup Final 4.30pm

#ThisClubIsMagic #TheseGirlsAreMagic