CRUSADERS EXPAND COMMUNITY WORK TO OVER 20 PRIMARY SCHOOLS
Coventry Crusaders Basketball Club is expanding its catchment area in delivering a healthy living programme to primary schools this season.
The club has added Solihull, Leamington and Kenilworth schools on top of a list of 17 Coventry schools that will be taking advantage of what is known as the Hoops4Health programme.
Hoops4Health is a British Basketball League initiative that aims to educate primary school pupils on making healthy choices on what they eat, how they exercise and highlighting the dangers of smoking. This is incorporated alongside practical basketball sessions.
Eight schools from Solihull are expected to take part in the New Year when Crusaders coaches Scott Neely and Brian Porth will travel over to carry out the healthy living workshops. While other local basketball sides Warwickshire Hoopstars and Blossomfield Hoops will do the basketball sessions.
Interest has grown in the Hoops4Health initiative after last year's success of a tournament that saw various Coventry primary schools face each other to decide who would represent Coventry at the British Basketball League national finals at the National Indoor Arena (NIA) in Birmingham last May. Last year Coventry school Potters Green went as far as the semi-final in front of 7,000 basketball fans.
Crusader Foundation director Scott Neely, who oversees all of the Crusaders' community activity, was delighted with the growth of Hoops4Health over the past couple of years.
Neely said: "In the Coventry area this year we'll have met the target of at least 17 schools, so seeing this programme expand and some of the partnership development managers support that has been excellent."
"We also had the opportunity to expand into Solihull and Warwickshire: two schools in Leamington, and one each in Kenilworth and one so far in Solihull."
"The hope is to see more schools take up the opportunity in those areas and to have a sub-regional Hoops4Health offering rather than just Coventry receiving the programme."
The Hoops4Health tournament is returning again this year as primary schools from the new catchment areas will join in to represent Coventry & Warwickshire at the NIA at the end of the season.
The winner of each mini-tournament will go on to face each other in a knock- out format at the end of Coventry Crusaders' National League season in March to decide who will represent Coventry & Warwickshire at the BBL finals. This year the finals take place on Saturday 30 April 2010 at the NIA.
See below results and planned games for Hoops4Health mini-tournaments:
1st H4H mini-tournament - 20th October at Grace Academy:
Wyken Croft
Good Shepherd
Aldermoor Farm
Ernesford Grange
Sir Frank Whittle
Winner: Wyken Croft School
Runner up: Good Shepherd School
2nd H4H mini-tournament - Tuesday 30 November at Hereward College:
Potters Green
St.John Vianney
Cannon Park
Charter Primary
Templars Primary
Leigh C of E
Winner: St.John Vianney
3rd H4H mini-tournament - date TBC (Solihull & Warwickshire schools)
These 4 schools have taken part in Hoops4Health so far in Solihull and Warwickshire, with a tourney to be scheduled in the New Year:
Greswold Primary
St.Paul's C of E
Priors Field
Shrubland Street
4th H4H mini-tournament - Wednesday 16 March 2011 at Barrs Hill School:
Spon Gate
Radford Primary
Southfields
Stanton Bridge
Frederick Bird
John Gulson