Families are acutely feeling the squeeze as Basketball Ballarat has scrambled to find court space for an extra 19 junior teams this championship season.

Pressure for court space is also compounded with an increase in junior state league teams on top.

Parent Lincoln Martin coaches a team, has four sons playing in different age groups for Exies Acmy and five-year-old daughter Poppy has started training.

This can mean ferrying children between at least three venues on Saturdays, usually from 8.10am until late. Sometimes after a 9pm game the night before.

“It’s not just us, but this is a choice we made,” Mr Martin said. “My wife and I sat down and asked, do we want our kids on the couch because it’s easier, or do we want to have them playing sport?”

Basketball Ballarat has a record 491 teams in action this championship season on top of 63 netball teams, more than 60 primary school teams and clubs seeking space for training sessions.

Matches are splintered at venues across the city, including Damascus and Mount Clear colleges, and alternate competition nights.

Basketball Ballarat competitions manager Matt Newton said the association was committed to removing the 10.10pm game time, but this was not possible until four extra courts were delivered in the Ballarat Sports and Events Centre redevelopment by late 2018.

Indoor courts are projected to be at capacity within 12 months of BSEC opening.

Basketball Ballarat remains pushing for funding to complete a full redevelopment, which would create an added two courts to help manage growth to 2025.

The sport has increased four-fold at grassroots level since the Minerdome opened in 1970. Team skyrocketed from 210 teams to 236 teams when Ballarat Miners entered the South East Australian Basketball League in 1986.

Hamilton’s Aaron Talbot drives his children to Ballarat at least twice a week for games with Celtic Tigers. He does not mind trekking between venues so much, but his family has felt the squeeze most for training.

Mr Talbot’s daughter Amy has enjoyed extra pre-game individuals with her under-12s coach Claire Constable, a Ballarat Rush player. Now there is not the space for extra coaching.

“It’s a big call to go down another night just for training,” Mr Talbot said. "Hamilton’s court is not too bad for the size of the town, but the competition is a lot stronger in Ballarat and we come for the coaches. We can put full trust in someone like Claire Constable to teach the game properly.”