Basketball New Zealand (BBNZ) and Court Kings are partnering up to give one deserving South Auckland school a new set of Goalrilla basketball hoops, as part of BBNZ’s Hoops in Schools programme.
Schools within South Auckland clusters will be able to nominate themselves for the giveaway, by providing a short video explaining why they deserve the two new hoops. Entries will remain open until close of business, Wednesday 10 May. A judging panel consisting of representatives from BBNZ, Court Kings as well as programme ambassador Tom Abercrombie, will then meet to whittle down the entries to a final shortlist of 10 schools. However it will be the public that will have the final say as to where the two hoops land, with a public vote opening from Monday 15 May.
Abercrombie has been a vocal advocate of BBNZ’s outdoor facility projects, attending nearly all official opening events.
“I’ve been a part of the Hoops in Schools programme since its inception all the way back in 2018. To see its continued growth and the number of kids it has impacted over the years is really special. It’s about making basketball accessible to communities all over the country,” says Abercrombie.
“The giveaway is a really cool initiative from Basketball New Zealand and Court Kings which will help grow the game in one lucky school. South Auckland was the first region that we rolled out Hoops in Schools in, so we know first-hand how passionate the local communities are about basketball!”
Hayden Allen, Court Kings co-owner as well a former Tall Black, Sky Sport Breaker and Sal’s NBL stalwart, said it was a no brainer to partner up with BBNZ to take the programme back to South Auckland.
“We’ve already been a proud partner of the Hoops in Parks initiative and have seen how much impact Hoops in Schools has had across the country. Basketball is enormous at the moment, so being able to get involved and give more kids a place to shoot hoops made complete sense to us,” says Allen.
The final 10 shortlisted schools will have their videos posted to a dedicated page on the BBNZ website at the same time, allowing for the public to view the finalist’s entries before making their decision. Voting will remain open for a further eight days, before a winner of the Hoops in Schools x Court Kings Giveaway is announced on Thursday 25 May. The voting panel will also award basketball prize packs to two of the shortlisted finalists.
BBNZ Facilities and Insights Lead, Daniel Dawick says it’s exciting to have more partners coming onboard to support the Hoops in Schools mahi across the country.
“Having Hayden and Bevan and the Court Kings team supporting us with this giveaway is going to be huge for one lucky South Auckland school,” says Dawick.
“Having a range of different partners and suppliers supporting Hoops in Schools and Hoops in Parks is really helping us grow both programmes. It just goes to show the tangible impact both of these initiatives are continuing to have. Basketball isn’t showing any signs of slowing down so it’s essential local schools and communities have access and opportunities to participate.”
> To view the official Hoops in Schools x Court Kings Giveaway page, please click here. This includes details on the entry process, key dates and Entry Eligibility and Criteria.
About Hoops in Schools
Hoops in Schools is a Basketball New Zealand programme that partners with schools, funders, local basketball associations and other basketball providers. The concept puts more fit-for-purpose hoops in schools so our tamariki and rangatahi are more active and having fun play hoops in their local communities. Find out more at Hoops In Schools here.
