Burger King 3x3 Quest Tour returns to Nelson

The Burger King 3X3 Quest Basketball Tour will be hosted in Nelson this Saturday, at the Tahunanui Beach Tennis Courts.

Basketball New Zealands 3x3 Manager, David Huxford, says Nelson has a strong love for the game and the 3x3 format is perfect for places like Nelson.

"Nelson has a great history of basketball with some of our big stars coming from there - Tall Blacks Kevin Baddiley, Charlie and Brian Cotton, Phil Jones, Dave Taylor, Frank Baldwin, Mika Vukona, Paul Stigley and others.

And of course the Giants fans are some of the NBLs most vocal. The local colleges always represent themselves well at our National events too. So yes, basketball and Nelson go together like sunshine and beaches."

Huxford says the 3x3 format (pronounced 3 on 3) is a summer sport because it is the street form of basketball, played with three people per side, with one hoop. Huxford says the format embraces the idea of pick up games.

"Traditionally communities revolved around clubs and more formal sports, with interclub and organised competition, and many people still enjoy their sport that way today. But there is also a large proportion of people who want to play, but struggle to commit to a team or club week in and week out. So 3x3 is perfect for them, because its providing opportunities to play informal sport in a more professional and organised setting," says Huxford.

This summer season is the fourth time the Burger King Quest Tour has travelled to provinces throughout New Zealand. Huxford says he and his team set up around eight informal one-hoop courts at each venue, add music, create a friendly and welcoming atmosphere, and provide a competition where there is a grade that suits all levels.

"The Tour is for anyone who wants to play, male and female, from the junior player through to the elite. Our New Zealand representatives play in the open mens grade events."

The final stop of the 3x3 Quest Tour is a World Tour Qualifying event, where the winners will go on to represent their hometown at the FIBA 3x3 World Tour. The winner of the Nelson opens mens grade will automatically qualify for that event.

"The Burger King 3x3 Tour has official Quest status, which means that the winner of the Open Mens grade at each event will compete at the World Tour Qualifier Final. We host it at The Cloud on 25 March. Whoever wins the Open Mens grade at The Cloud will win an all-expenses paid trip to Asia and the right to represent their city at a FIBA 3x3 World Tour Masters in Asia," says Huxford.

FIBA rules state that international players who compete in World Championships or the World Tour must have played in at least two FIBA endorsed events and accumulate points on 3x3Planet, FIBAs portal for 3x3 events. Huxford says Basketball New Zealand looks for potential national talent at the Burger King 3x3 Quest Tour.

"The Tour gives players an opportunity to be spotted by the national 3x3 talent selector. This year Basketball New Zealand will send five teams overseas to play in FIBA 3x3 events, so were looking for some really talented players to sign up. And who knows, maybe theres a few future Olympians in the bunch - one of the most exciting events this year will be the announcement in June by the IOC as to whether or not 3x3 will be included in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. Weve been directing our 3x3 programme towards this, so were waiting for the announcement with baited breath."

Building on three successful tours over previous summers, the Burger King 3X3 Quest Tour runs from 26 November through to 25 March at the final event at The Cloud in Auckland. The event is open to under 15, under 17, under 19, and Open age-groups in both mens and womens categories.

Huxford says players must be registered on 3x3Planet.com to enter.

"On 3x3Planet, players can enter events, track their results and compare their FIBA ranking to their friends and other 3X3 players internationally. Its extremely important that all players have an official 3x3Planet.com profile when they play in the Tour. Creating a profile is easy and only takes about three minutes. Once theyve created their 3x3Planet account all they need to do is respond to the confirmation email and theyre ready to play."

Burger King Quest 3X3 Tour Schedule:

DATE LOCATION VENUE

Sat 26 Nov 2016 Whangarei Whangarei Netball Courts

Sat 03 Dec 2016 New Plymouth Waiwhakaiho Netball Courts

Sat 10 Dec 2016 North Shore (Auckland) Westlake Girls High School (covered netball courts)

Sat 17 Dec 2016 Rotorua The Energy Events Centre (carpark)

Sat 14 Jan 2017 Mangere (Auckland) Otahuhu Netball Centre, David Lange Park.

Sat 21 Jan 2017 Tauranga Blake Park Tennis Courts, Mt Maunganui

Sat 28 Jan 2017 Henderson (Auckland) Trusts Arena (indoors)

Sat 11 Feb 2017 Nelson Tahunanui Beach Tennis Courts

Sat 18 Feb 2017 Christchurch Hagley Park Netball Courts

Sat 25 Feb 2017 Invercargill Invercargill Netball Centre, Surrey Park Road

Sun 26 Feb 2017 Dunedin The Octagon

Sat 05 Mar 2017 Palmerston North Waldegrave Street carpark

Sat 11 Mar 2017 Wellington Odlins Plaza Wellington Waterfront

Sat 18 Mar 2017 Hamilton Garden Place Hamilton

Sat 25 Mar 2017 Auckland Central- The Cloud, 89 Quay Street, Auckland

- This event will be both a normal Burger King 3x3 Quest Tour event (minus Open men's grade) plus the World Tour Qualifier Final for eligible Open Men's teams from throughout New Zealand.

- This story has been automatically published using a media release from Basketball New Zealand