1000 players, 72 regional teams, 144 coaches, 78 referees, 198 games, 2000 family members, 5000 overnight stays, 15 thousand meals in two school canteens. These are just some of the numbers of the Youth Basketball Festival, which this year is once again taking place, for the second time in a row, in Albufeira, this time between March 20th and 24th.
Over five days, in five sports halls in the city of Albufeira, the hopes of national basketball, boys and girls aged between 14 and 16, will show what they are worth, grouped in 72 teams from all regions of the country, including Madeira and Azores.
«The 12 best players from each regional basketball association, in both genders and in two levels, will be here representing their team», said Manuel Fernandes, technical director, today in Albufeira, during the presentation press conference. of the Portuguese Basketball Federation (FPB).
José Carlos Rolo, mayor of Albufeira, stressed that the importance of this initiative is measured «not only by the euros it brings or by the number of people it attracts, but also by the contribution to citizenship, by training young people, by the healthy part of the sport, and that is unquantifiable».
Manuel Fernandes added that Albufeira has "tradition and scrolls in the sport", recalling that currently there are two players in the national basketball team – Tomás Barroso and Quintino – who come from clubs in the municipality.
The FPB technical director also underlined the “fantastic strength that emanates from the Party, from the parents, from the kids, from the joy, from the conviviality. Basically, these are the youth championships in Portugal, but we always talk about Festa, because, in addition to competition with passion, we want this to be a true lesson in citizenship».
Luís Romão, regional director of the Portuguese Institute for Sport and Youth, also highlighted the “competitive, playful and formative” dimension of the Festival.
Manuel Fernandes added that this is, in fact, «the largest concentration of federated youth sport in Portugal» and took the opportunity to praise the organization of the party in Albufeira. «We want the 8th Basketball Party to be here in Albufeira», he concluded.
In a year marked by crisis, Ana Herculano, president of the Algarve Basketball Association, highlighted the «concern of the clubs in keeping sporting activities afloat», even when support is increasingly rare. He stressed that there are "some regional associations with problems to gather conditions to bring their teams here." However, «the Azores and Madeira, for example, even with great difficulties, will be here again».
“In these moments of crisis, if we have to choose, we can never leave young people aside”, stressed Ana Herculano.
In this large organization, which involves five city pavilions – the Municipal de Albufeira, and also those of the Basic and Secondary schools, the Secondary, EB 2/3 Francisco Cabrita and EB 2/3 Martim Fernandes – and counts on the precious collaboration of the Group of Schools, the City Council does not spend “not a cent”, although it gives away the sporting spaces and ensures the logistics of the event in terms of human resources, as highlighted by Paulo Dias, alderman for Sports. The remaining structure will be in charge of the FPB.
The event also has the support of several local partners, especially in terms of special accommodation conditions. «When we started to prepare everything, I sent a first email to the partners and I must say that I had people answering yes five minutes later», revealed the councilor.
Paulo Dias also recalled that the Easter holidays will be very active in Albufeira, since, in addition to the approximately 1500 people that the Basketball Festival attracts to the county (amongst athletes, coaches, organization and families), there will also be four days before and in an organization of Imortal Basket, the International Men's Under-12 Tournament, as well as on the same days as the Festa the National Meeting of Professors of Mathematics ProfMat, the “Gata na Praia”, a sports event for students organized by the University of Minho , the National Meeting of Dental Medicine Students, and also, as President José Carlos Rolo recalled, the Mathematics Olympics.
«These are all events that bring people to Albufeira and, with that, have an important effect on the local economy», namely in terms of hotel occupation, restaurants and commerce, underlined the mayor.
The Basketball Festival starts on March 20th, with the arrival of the delegations, the parade and the welcome session at Praça dos Pescadores, and ends on March 24th, the date of the finals and the closing ceremony
In addition to the games, various activities will take place, with emphasis on the Mini-Basketball Jamboree, open to all children between 7 and 11 years old, and the Live Basket, where everyone is invited to practice the sport in 16 outdoor fields created for the purpose.
In addition to the prizes to be awarded to the top three in each competition (U-14 and U-16 Men and Women), there will also be the Fair Play Award, aimed at promoting healthy competition, as well as the Solidarity Award, which provides for the donation of 1 euro for each player. The funds raised revert to a social institution in Albufeira. Last year, 1249 euros were delivered to the local Voluntary Firefighters.
In summary: from March 20th to 24th, all the paths for basketball lovers will lead to Albufeira.
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