Basketball NI welcomed a special guest to Newforge Sports Complex as they delivered the Jr NBA Eastern Conference Festival of Fun on 28th April 2026, Basketball royality in CJ Fulton. CJ welcomed 17 primary schools from across Northern Ireland for a large scale celebration of youth basketball at the JrNBA Eastern Conference Finals.
The event forms part of a wider Jr NBA programme, funded through Sport NI National Lottery Funding, which has engaged over 1,100 children across Northern Ireland. Working with outreach coaches in partnership with Sport Changes Life, Healthy Kidz, Evolution Basketball, Newry Fliers, BC Wolves, Larne Lakers, Mourne Basketball, Antrim Jets and additional local club coaches across the BNI Community. Of those, over 330 participants progressed to take part in the Festival of Fun events, representing primary schools from across the region.
Participants took part in a dynamic schedule of basketball games, skills activities and educational sessions, designed to maximise engagement and ensure a positive experience for all involved. The format prioritised participation, enjoyment and personal development, with a strong emphasis on inclusion and accessibility.
A highlight of the day saw local basketball hero CJ Fulton, of the Iowa Walves NBA G-League, attend the event to present awards and speak directly to the players, sharing his journey through the sport.
Marc Mulholland, Basketball Northern Ireland, said:
“It was incredibly powerful for our young players to hear from CJ Fulton, who started his journey in the game at the very same age as many of the children participating in this programme. CJ has gone on to become the first Irish born male player developed through the Irish system to sign an NBA contract with the Minnesota Timberwolves and compete in the NBA G League with the Iowa Wolves this season.To have someone from the streets of Belfast now playing on the global stage of basketball shows what is possible. CJ spoke magniciently to the children today and gave our young players that belief that anything is possible if you apply yourself.
Who knows, in years to come we may see a future NBA or WNBA player come through these programme. The Jr NBA is a brilliant starting point for young people to begin their journey in the game, to build confidence, develop skills and connect with sport in a meaningful way.
We are proud to be working in partnership with the NBA in our 3rd year and entering into a four year programme to deliver opportunities like this. We are extremely grateful to Sport NI National Lottery Funding for their continued support as we continue to grow the game across the region.”
The Eastern Conference event demonstrated the growing momentum of basketball within primary schools and highlighted the increasing demand for structured, high quality grassroots programmes.
“It is really exciting to see the young people truly engage and enjoy basketball. Our goal is to signpost all of these players to clubs and hopefully we will see more clubs started and existing clubs develop as a result.
We have been strategic with this third year of the JrNBA progamme and looked at areas across NI that need more players in local clubs to continue to develop continue to work in areas such as Derry/Londonderry, Newry, Mourne, Larne, Ballymena, Magherafelt, Coleraine and Antrim. We will continue to look at areas of the next number of years with this NBA Partnership in an aim to drive grass roots development for basketball.” Said Lauren McCullough, Club Engagement Officer at Basketball NI
Basketball Northern Ireland would like to thank all schools, teachers, volunteers, coaches, Newforge Sports Complex and delivery partners for their role in delivering an outstanding event and continuing to grow the game across Northern Ireland.
