#GirlsGotGame 3X3 pilot a huge success

For the past 4 weeks, New Life school gymnasium has been home to young female ballers taking on 3X3 basketball as part of North Canterbury Basketball Association's Girls Got Game 3X3 Pilot competition. The pilot was run alongside our McDonalds Primary school competition. 

We had 6 teams from Ohoka, Swannanoa, Clarkville, Rangiora Borough and Hurunui partake in the pilot. We cant thank the schools, and basketball coordinators enough for jumping on board and supporting the competition. 

The pilot was fully endorsed by Basketball New Zealand, and aimed to attract more girls to basketball, and provide opportunities for them to develop and grow more confidence on the court. 3X3 basketball is a faster and more rapid version of the game, and is now an Olympic and Commonwealth games sport. 3X3 provides lots of opportunities for the girls to get more game time and lots of touches of the ball. 

New Zealand Tall Fern, professional women’s player, and NC local, Mary Goulding was an ambassador for the pilot, and has been down each friday night watching and supporting the girls play! “I absolutely loved watching the girls play, it brought me a lot of joy seeing the younger generation getting out on the court, giving it a go, and having fun!”

Additionally, Mary and NCBA Development Manager George Robinson, visited 3 of the schools partaking in the pilot program for a Girls Got Game session! Ohoka, Clarkville and Rangiora Borough were treated to a 60 minute session with Mary, and got the chance to ask her questions about being a professional player, and her journey. 

The feedback from players, schools, and parents about Girls Got Game and 3X3 has been amazing! The girls especially, have loved the opportunity to play with their friends, get more opportunities to touch the ball and score without the boys dominating. While 3X3 has been attractive to the girls due to its fast paced nature, with less running, increased space to play, and more chances to score!  One of the schools even managed to get girls who had never played before to join in - it is safe to say they are now hooked on the game! 

NCBA has loved to see the positive atmosphere surrounding the 3X3 games; parents and coaches are sitting back and letting the girls do their thing on court, everyone has smiles on faces, and good play from both sides is being appreciated and applauded from all! 

NCBA Chairperson, Gordon Wong, had this to say about the Girls Got Game 3X3 “It has simply been amazing to witness the natural development of skills and enjoyment of the game by both players and their supporters.I feel that the wave of interest in the GGG and 3X3 is super exciting and expect participation to explode in the near future. I LOVE it !”

Girls Got Game and 3X3 is the next wave of basketball taking over the courts of NC! If you want to be involved make sure to register for our Girls Got Game Camp these coming holidays! The camp will involve the girls learning new skills, building friendships and having fun, and a mini 3x3 tournament to finish! 

To register, visit our website today! http://www.northcanterbury.basketball/Programs-1/Girls-Got-Game

Check out below the video Brendan from Display.net.nz put together of the #GirlsGotGame 3X3 Pilot. 

Article added: Wednesday 31 March 2021