A showcase of South Island youth basketball is set to land in Timaru this month.
Next Saturday Christchurch-based basketball organisation College Park will be holding the second edition of the College Park Classic at Aorangi Stadium.
Following the success of the first edition in Christchurch, the upcoming event is set to involve around 300 young basketballers from around the South Island.
Players are selected by their coaches or can register on the College Park Hoops website to take part in one of five invitational games — these being the under-15 boys, under-16 girls, two under-17 boys games and a senior boys game.
The event will begin at noon and culminate with a dunk contest and three-point shootout at 7pm.
College Park founder Joe Hammond said it was exciting to be bringing the classic to Timaru.
‘‘When we did the first one, I could tell that people from Timaru and around the area had a really amazing appreciation for it. The basketball community [in Timaru] is pretty enthusiastic.
‘‘The concept for the event is for it to be a whole South Island thing, and being a Christchurch person we kind of have all-we-can-eat basketball. We wanted to create a cool experience and platform for the people who don’t necessarily get that all the time.
‘‘We didn’t just want to do one every year in Christchurch, we want to move it around and I think we need to do that to make it a real South Island thing. The vision now is to have three annual events in Timaru, Christchurch and Nelson-Marlborough.’’
‘‘This year’s event will be a bit of a smaller version but it’s definitely something that will hopefully grow and get bigger and better,’’ Mr Hammond said.
He said the goal for the event was to showcase young South Island players and create positive experiences and memories for like-minded people.
‘‘We had such an awesome reaction from the first event and when myself and the team reflected on it, it was just smiles, high-fives and hugs all day.
‘‘We were really proud of that.
‘‘It’s a lot of work and I’m sure we’ll learn a lot on how to do it better for next time,’’ he said.
‘‘But if we see smiles on faces for the basketballers and the families, then we’re on track’’.
While a lot of the limited spots on teams had been filled there were still a few openings available for those wishing to take part in the event.
‘‘We definitely have got some room in the girls game. That’s probably the trickier one for us to fill.
‘‘There is a few spots in all the games, but they’re filling up.
‘‘There’s still time for people to inquire and people just need to go on the website and apply or just reach out to us directly and we can send them more information about it.’’
The event will be gold coin entry for spectators with the funds raised being put back into South Canterbury Basketball or sport-based charities, Mr Hammond said.
‘‘Ideally we would find a primary school or somewhere that doesn’t have a hoop or equipment, Mr Hammond said.
‘‘We appreciate the area having us and letting us do our event there.
‘‘I think it could be a win-win if we can find a way to give back in other ways as well.’’
