Basketball tournament begins on purpose built court in heart of Liverpool city centre
More than 200 young basketball players will be holding court this week as a ground-breaking new basketball tournament gets underway right at the heart of Liverpool ONE.
Transcript
00:00 Over 300 young basketball players are holding court this week as a
00:05 groundbreaking new basketball tournament gets underway right in the heart of
00:09 Liverpool 1. The city was synonymous with football but basketball is the
00:13 second highest team participation sport in the UK. It's huge and people just
00:18 don't realize that. So one of the reasons we want to do this event was to grow the
00:22 sport, give it a little bit more visibility and allow anyone to access it.
00:25 3x3 is a basketball equivalent of football's five-a-side and more than 60
00:31 teams will be vying against each other on a purpose-built court installed on
00:35 Chevass Park. The brainchild of the Toxteth elite CIC, the event's set to be
00:39 the first ever large-scale 3x3 basketball tournament in the region.
00:44 It's a team sport and so it gives you a degree of responsibility and
00:48 accountability and also helps improve your communication because you've got to
00:51 talk with each other as well but it just gives you the basic discipline and all
00:54 them things transferable skills you can do every day in your life and that's
00:59 important for these young kids growing up. Toxteth elite CIC is a
01:04 Liverpool based basketball program that offers high-level provision free of
01:08 charge. Founded in Toxteth in 2022, it's grown a reputation and prominence
01:13 nationally since its inception. It's taking kids into a different
01:17 environment and that's so important at that age because they're essentially
01:21 sponges in terms of the development and putting them in an environment which is
01:25 good for them, beneficial for them. We take a completely holistic approach in
01:28 that, you know, it's not just about being on the court, it's what you do off the
01:31 court, it's how you eat, it's your sleep, it's your responsibility as a human being,
01:35 what your identity is as a human being and you wouldn't think that would just
01:38 come from a single sport but it does. Basketball sessions at the 5ft Youth
01:43 and Community Hub in Toxteth are offered free by Basketball England and
01:47 supported by the Merseyside Violence Reduction Partnership and Merseyside's
01:52 Police and Crime Commissioner. I really passionately believe if you invest in
01:57 young people, if you give them opportunities, allow them to develop
02:00 their skills, you know, allow them to get involved in stuff, keep them occupied,
02:03 that is the best way that we can really prevent crime and untouched behaviour and
02:08 it's about making sure young people have choice, it's about recognising not
02:10 everybody wants to do the same thing, so making sure we've got that space for
02:14 basketball, it's just another option to try and get more young people involved.
02:17 The five-day event encourages participation in the burgeoning sport by
02:22 showcasing some sizzling basketball skills culminating in a huge grand final
02:27 on Sunday afternoon. Liverpool 1 is a community but it's part of a wider
02:32 community and anything we can do to support people within the areas
02:38 around us is so so important. This is obviously based out of L8 which is a
02:44 really important area for us to work with. Bringing these guys into the
02:48 city centre, giving them this space and saying away you go, let's use this for
02:52 something different, they've come up with basketball. I just think it's outstanding.
02:56 Free open coaching and mentoring sessions will also be on offer for young
02:59 people to try every day at the specially installed court.