I would think the traditional time slots for VC games are very well known around all Clubs, from U12 in earlier time slots through to the last time slot of 9:40pm for U18s (usually).

Even for 9:40pm, for home games most kids would be home soon after 11pm, and well before midnight for most away games ... perhaps one or two games for a whole season at a country venue would have home arrival after midnight.

Can't see the issue here ... if the kids were sitting at home on a Friday night rather than playing hoops, you think they would be asleep before midnight ??? I think not !

Huh ?

All for kids not walking the streets on a Friday night and get the point that the system has been around for a while, still not quite what I am getting at. Some domestic competitions run games near 10.00pm on school nights having 14 year olds playing until later than they should.

Surely there is an issue here that either more court availability or better scheduling could fix?

Also, my point regarding court availability, especially in a competition like the VJBL is that I see domestic competitions run on nights where one hour earlier start for the representative teams would make a huge difference.

Whether kids play at home or travel an hour or two makes no difference and to say, 'VC game start times are well known' or 'some country kids may get home once or twice a season' is showing a fair bit or ignorance or lack of understanding as to what is really going on out there...

Quite a few kids get up at 8.00am Saturday to play footy or cricket as well. Not sure they would be in the best shape physically or mentally after a 1.00am return home from a 40 minute game of hoops.

This is about balance and common sense....!

Agree with Bear. Lots of kids have Saturday morning sports so would be good to have earlier Fri night games. It is compulsory in private schools (not sure about public) to play a sat morning sport so kids end up quitting as Fri night commitments too hard. Just my two Bob 's worth...

Not sure costs will blow out if venues are already in operation, it is the domestic competitions run prior to the rep' teams starting that delay games into later time slots that could be looked at I think...

I realise the VJBL is huge, with thousands of kids playing. But for 14 year olds to be asked to begin a game 2 hours from home at 9.40pm is just not good for anyone really, is it...?

For U16 & U18 Boys I don't think it's such a big issue to play 9.40pm games but for Girls yes I think it's one of the reasons the U18 Girls competition drops right away after U16's.
The VJBL U20 competition should be removed all-together and played purely as Youth League competition on weekends to free up some court time.
If the VJBL had less teams playing on Friday nights then that would reduce the need to play these late games. Starting earlier is not an option because parents are already struggling to get to 6.40pm games on Fridays as Melbourne gets gridlocked in many areas between 4pm-6pm.
Restricting Clubs to just a maximum of 5 teams in an age group would also help ease the need for these late games. Some VJBL Clubs have up to 10 teams in an age group which is absolutely ridiculous.

Some good points VP, I also think the under 20's is a dead duck and players good enough should go to youth league.

Clubs with more than 4 or 5 teams in one age group are fostering domestic level players who make up numbers to make their Associations look bigger than the rivals in the next suburb, so this is also a great idea in my opinion too...

I know some places are growing like crazy, Altona is an example, they are bursting at the seams with players but if we are lacking venues to accommodate enough quality teams at reasonable hours, something has to give!

Some forward thinking and common sense open minded approaches are required by the powers (aka VJBL)...