The Startup Basketball 4v4 Tournament in Sydney returns in 2026, hitting the courts on Friday, May 1, the day after Sunrise.
In 2025 more than 100 founders and investors ditched their RMs or Golden Gooses for high-tops to close out the week with lay-ups, airballs, and plenty of high fives.
Blackbird’s annual Sunrise is supporting Startup Basketball as part of its community events program.
After a hectic day at Sunrise at Carriageworks on April 30, it’s a fresh – and sometimes exhausting – way to meet more people with a shared passion and build new connections.
“It resonates with founders, investors, and the startup ecosystem because it brings people together in a different and healthier way than traditional beer and pizza networking”, says Mark Zmarzly, who kickstarted these events in both Brisbane and Sydney.
“We also intentionally make time and space for intros and connections during and after the games and that’s led to both investment and revenue.”
Building bridges on court
Startup Basketball has grown from a single open session in 2023 with 12 attendees to a community of more than 700 players in 6 cities across 2 continents. This year, responding to community demand, it will even host its first ever event in New Zealand.
Startup Basketball events have become a much-loved staple of the calendar for bringing a fun and inclusive approach to networking through activity.
Regular monthly pick-up games quickly turned into larger-scale tournaments open to anyone, from windmill-dunking pro’s through to first-timers on the court. The focus isn’t on winning or stats, but on having a good time and getting to know new and old faces.
But even this event isn’t totally AI-immune though – teams are arranged using Claude to mix and match players based on skill, height, experience, and professional roles. It’s an intentional design to spark new connections, rather than form super-teams; you might find yourself setting a screen for your future lead investor or catching a pass from the founder of the next Aussie unicorn.
The game plan
The day kicks off at 8:15am with a round-robin style tournament. Every team is guaranteed at least three to four games, culminating in a high-stakes single-elimination bracket. The final showdown takes place on centre court, where the tournament champions will be crowned.
The action isn’t limited to the court. After the games, players and spectators will head to lunch to brag about their on-court feats or perhaps, talk business and deals.
Sponsors include Zed Law, Cloud Assembly, Cloudflare, Vercel, Performance VC, Blackmill, Superstat, and Legend Sports AI, with Startup Daily as media partner for the second year running.
How to get involved
Tickets this year include spectators, as well as players, for those who aren’t ready to take the court, but don’t want to miss the action or lunch.
When: Friday, May 1, 2026, 8:15am – 2:00pm
Where: Hoops Capital East, Moore Park, NSW
Register to be a part of it here (do it by today, March 31, to get your name on a customised tournament singlet).
