NBA Week Comes To Stoke

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As part of NBA week, StreetGames Stoke-on-Trent hosted a basketball tournament on March 1st at Northwood Stadium. The tournament was available for young people aged 10-19 with tournaments for 3 different age groups and skill activities and 3 point challenges available for people who weren’t in a team or for teams who were waiting to play.
 
In partnership with Staffordshire’s Basketball Development Officer, Jo Arnold, from England Basketball, the tournament was an extremely successful and well organised event. Five local volunteers from Northwood Valiants basketball club, based in Stoke on Trent, took a lead on the tournament refereeing games and organising the skill activities and the challenges. The matches were 3 aside games with the 2 younger age groups on half a court and the older age group across a full pitch.
 
It was refreshing to see a large number of StreetGames participants playing as well as local basketball teams. This is a sport that StreetGames participants have been reluctant to try on previous sessions. The competitions were split into the following age groups 10-12, 13-15 and 16-19. The 10-12 age group had 2 teams, the 13-15 age group had 7 teams and the older age group had 4 teams. There were 63 participants in total with another 20-30 young people watching and cheering their mates on.
 
A good time was had by both the young people who have a passion for basketball and by the young people who are totally new to the sport. It was also great experience for the five volunteers from Northwood Valiants who helped organise and deliver the event. Everyone went home with a T-shirt and a medal and were keen to know when the next tournament will be taking place. Hopefully, again in partnership with the Basketball Development Officer and the team of trained volunteers, StreetGames can host another successful basketball tournament in the future.