Youngsters jump at the chance to compete in basketball competition
01/12/08
Almost 400 primary pupils from 10 schools in Aberdeen will compete in the Jump 2 it basketball tournament tomorrow [Tuesday, 2 December], at the Beach Leisure Centre, Beach Promenade.
The event has been organised by the Scottish Sports Futures team in conjunction with Active Schools Aberdeen and the Scottish Rock Professional Basketball team.
Scottish Rock’s leading basketball players - Scott Russell, Chi Lewis Parry and Mike McGregor will attend the competition.
Scottish Sports Futures, which was established in 2000, seeks to encourage young people to engage in sport and physical activities as a way of bringing about positive behavioural change and active citizenship. The organisation uses basketball to introduce young people, to sport and healthy living.
Jump2it is a health and citizenship led primary schools programme designed to improve the knowledge of young people by promoting increased physical activity and exercise while highlighting the risks of poor diet, smoking, drugs and alcohol abuse. These issues are tackled in an entertaining and interactive manner with Scottish Rocks professional basketball players who delivered the initial content in the schools.
The youngsters then received six weeks of basketball coaching from local coaches prior to the tournament taking place on Tuesday, 02 December.
The top four teams from the tournament will play in a final at the Kelvinhall, Glasgow on Sunday, 14th December, during the half-time break of the Scottish Rock Professional Basketball team game, in front of a huge crowd. The top four teams will receive 150 free tickets for their schools.
Jo Conlon, Active Schools Manager, Aberdeen City Council, said: "We are delighted to be working in partnership with the Scottish Sports Future and the Scottish Rocks Basketball team to make this programme a success locally. It is great to see a professional sports team taking a pro-active role in promoting healthy living and an active lifestyle at grassroots level."
"The programme has widened opportunities for sustained participation in sport by establishing new school basketball clubs, enhancing existing club structures, whilst motivating youngsters to get more involved in sport generally."
If you have any queries regarding this, or any other news story, please contact Aberdeen City Council on: 01224 522000.
