NZ Basketball's popularity boom

Steve Campbell of Foot Mechanics grabs a rebound during a Tauranga City Basketball Premier League match v RSB at the ASB Arena. Photo/File

Basketball in New Zealand is riding a surging wave of interest thanks to the nationwide support for the NZ Breakers and saturation coverage of American basketball on SKY TV.

You just need to check out how many kids walk around with NBA tops and caps on to get the message.

Tauranga City Basketball has also played a key role in galvanising the surge in popularity in the Western Bay and has just announced its 2014 programme.

General manager Mark Rogers is excited about the year ahead that began with the national 3x3 tour dropping in to the city on Saturday.

"3x3 is definitely a big part of our summer programme," Rogers said. "We were lucky enough to host one of the national tour stops, so that was awesome, and we have been running our own tournaments for the last couple of years that continue to grow.

"A new part of that programme is we are going to run a new 3x3 secondary schools programme this year in March. We are very excited about that part of our sport, which is targeted to be outdoors in summer. That is great for us when we struggle to find facilities to be able to get outdoors." Basketball may well be booming and a new sport of choice for many families, but a lack of outdoor venues for 3x3 courts is an issue.

The game is not expensive to set up, needing just a half court with one hoop and backboard, so fits easily into existing parks and areas like the downtown waterfront area. What better way to get the teenagers gathering downtown to get active and focused? "We have been to (Tauranga City) Council and they have agreed in principle. Funding is obviously an issue but it is something we would love to see in the city sooner rather than later," Rogers said.

"The sport of 3x3 has been around for 20 odd years but now FIBA has grabbed it, it is potentially becoming an Olympic sport. If you look at the opportunities that sevens have brought to Tauranga for rugby, there is no reason 3x3 could not do the same for basketball."

Other major events scheduled include the Pacific Easter Tournament for the under-12 to under-19 age groups, with 1500 ball players and coaches from more than 100 rep teams converging on Tauranga for what is the biggest basketball tournament in New Zealand.

"The spin-offs for basketball and the city are huge. We think conservatively the economic benefits to the city will easily be over a million bucks," Rogers added. "This is the first time we have hosted it and that is mainly due to having the great facilities that we do, and we have proven over the last few years that we can deliver a good product.

"A US college coach is coming out to do coach education and a camp for the elite kids, plus referee education going on, so it is a really big event for us."

In May and July the regional age group competitions from the greater Waikato and Bay of Plenty will be held in Tauranga to prepare for the nationals. The hugely popular Miniball World Cup is on again at the ASB Arena on July 31, which is always over-subscribed by the primary schools, and this year the first intermediate schools version will be held in August to prepare for AIMS Games.

In August the U23 Nationals will again be hosted by Tauranga City Basketball at the ASB Arena and several other high profile events are currently under negotiation that may well be added to the 2014 programme.