Basketball

UPDATE

The Technical Committee is meeting at 3pm on Saturday at the Comfort Inn Hotel ( Castle Mona ). All teams need to send a rep to attend,in case of any information to pass out. And there will be a final meeting at 6pm on the Friday after the games,re how the week went,what can be inproved.

The Isle of Man Basketball teams are holding a party at Paramount City (a local nightclub) on Wednesday evening from 8pm for all Basketball Players plus any others, food will be provided and the tickets are £6.50 from either Trudi Crellin or Sue Webster, they will be available at the NSC.

The group draw for the NatWest Island Games men's basketball event has been made with the Isle of Man in group two against the Cayman Islands who won silver in Gotland in 1999.
The other teams which make up the group are Gibraltar and Jersey, who the IoM both lost to in Gotland, and newcomers Ynys Mon (Anglesey).
Rhodes, winners of the event two years ago, are drawn in group one against bronze medallists Gotland, Saaremaa, Guernsey and the Isle of Wight.
Seven islands have entered the women's event with the IoM in the four team group with 1999 winners Gotland, Guernsey and the Jersey. The other group is made up by Gibraltar, Rhodes and Cayman Islands.


Basketball on the Isle of Man has just celebrated its 21st year and runs a 1st and 2nd Division for both Ladies and Mens teams.

Each year the Isle of Man hosts tournaments for over 20 Universities and also holds an American Basketball Camp, with top American Coaches attending.

Basketball has increased its standing as one of the Islands most popular indoor sports, with teams competing in the United Kingdom on a regular basis.

The competition in 2001 will be held in the main sports hall at the National Sports Centre.

The competition will be held according to the rules of the F.I.B.A.

A TOTAL of ten men's and six women's teams are set to compete in the basketball competition of the 2001 NatWest Island Games at the NSC, an increase on the numbers in Gotland.

Ynys Mon did not participate in the sport in 1999 but plan to send a men's side over on the short trip from Anglesey for the Manx tournament. From slightly further afield, the Cayman Islands and Rhodes are to enter the women's event for the first time next July.
The teams in each competition will be divided into two pools for group matches, with the semi-finals and final to follow these. Every island will then be given a final placing after play-offs for all positions.

During the Games, basketball, which has recently celebrated its 21st year on the Isle of Man, will be sponsored by Manx based on-line sports betting company, betinternet.com.
The Isle of Man's male players will be funded by Aston Corporate Trustees as part of a four year NatWest Island Games sponsorship package. Hubara Corporation Limited have the same arrangement to sponsor the Manx female competitors.

The majority of officials for basketball wil be flown in fro the UK, although Sweden, Gibraltar and the Cayman Islands have all been invited to bring umpires.

Preparations for the competition venue include the purchase of a new 30 second clock for one of the NSC's courts, and some of the backboards and rings will also need to be replaced.
Each year the Island host tournaments for over 20 universities and also an American Basketball camp attended by top US coaches, an experience which should stand Manx organisers in good stead with plans for the Games' return to its spiritual home.

Basketball fans can also visit the official Jersey Basketball site at www.jerseybasketball.com