Accompanying them will be parents, coaches and team managers, as well as officials.

The event is being coordinated by Catholic Primary Schools Sport Services with the support of the host schools and the organising committee from St Joseph’s and Ss Peter and Paul’s primary schools.

The CPS challenge is a school community participation event for students that is split into junior (years 3 to 4) and senior (years 5 to 6) divisions. It is expected that 128 teams will be competing in a total of 310 games across the weekend.

The two-day event is supported by Goulburn Mulwaree Council, with the use of the Goulburn Recreation Area.

Games will be played on all courts in Veolia Arena and the Goulburn Basketball Stadium. Due to the scale of the competition and number of competitors, games will also be played at local schools including: Ss Peter and Paul’s Primary School, Trinity Catholic College and Mulwaree High School.

Based on figures provided by Tourism Research Australia and the number of competitors and families involved, the CPS Basketball Challenge is projected to bring over $1,000,000 of economic benefit to the Goulburn Mulwaree area over the weekend.

Ann-Marie Miranda, CPS Sports executive officer, said the event had received generous support from the organising committee, local business and the community, especially the schools.

“Thanks to the positive feedback from previous years, we are pleased to be bringing the challenge back to Goulburn,” Ms Miranda said.

Goulburn was chosen to host the event based on its location, facilities and the application that was put forward by the two local Catholic schools.

CPS Basketball has grown dramatically over past years, with Ms Miranda explaining that entries were closed three weeks early as the competition had reached capacity.

The last time Goulburn hosted the challenge was in October 2012.

Participating schools: