Registrations open for the 3x3 National Basketball Tour

The 3X3 Quest Tour will tip off in one month from today, on 9 December.

Basketball New Zealands 3x3 Manager, David Huxford, says the tour has grown in status every year, as more and more people are stepping onto court.

"People are flocking to the 3x3 format. Thats been recognised internationally through the Olympic Committee confirming it will be part of Tokyo 2020. And FIBAs international competitions continue to gain larger audiences. Yet, the true strength of 3x3 lies at the grassroots level. People love it because its informal, you just need a street hoop, its fast, quick and fun. So we are expecting another great summer season."

The Tour once again has FIBAs official Quest status, which means that the winner of the Open Mens grade at each event will compete at the World Tour Qualifier Final at The Cloud in Auckland, where there is a big prize on the line.

"Whoever wins the last event at The Cloud will win an all-expenses paid trip to compete at the World Tour Masters," says Huxford.

"Weve done this for the past two years. Its a great prize and the athletes that go find themselves playing in a globally-elite 3x3 environment. Theyll be competing against some of the worlds best talent - its not easy with such tough competition, the experience is incredible," says Huxford.

"The Quest Tour, which has ten stops around the country this summer, gives players a great opportunity to be spotted by the national 3x3 talent selector. Next year, Basketball New Zealand will send a number of national representative teams overseas to play in FIBA 3x3 events, so were always looking for talented players that can step up."

Building on four successful tours over previous summers, the 3X3 Quest Tour runs from 9 December through to 10 March. The event is open to under 15, under 17, under 19, and Open age-groups in both mens and womens categories. Huxford says teams need to register early if they dont want to miss out.

"Given last seasons demand, we are encouraging players to enter their teams now and ensure they are registered on play.fiba3x3.com."

On play.fiba3x3.com, players can enter events, track their results and compare their ranking to their friends and other 3x3 players internationally. Its essential that all players have an official play.fiba3x3.com profile when they play in the Tour. Creating a profile is easy and only takes about three minutes. Once youve created a play.fiba3x3.com account, respond to the confirmation email, register for an event, and youre ready to play.

3X3 Quest Tour Schedule:

Date Region Venue

Sat 9 Dec 2017 Tauranga Mount Maunganui Netball centre

Sat 16 Dec 2017 Auckland - Takapuna North Shore Events Centre

Sat 20 Jan 2018 Auckland - Mangere Mangere Otahuhu Netball Centre

Sat 27 Jan 2018 Hamilton Garden Place and Civic Square

Sat 10 Feb 2018 Wellington Odlins Plaza

Sat 17 Feb 2018 Invercargill Stadium Southland

Sun 18 Feb 2018 Dunedin The Octagon

Sat 24 Feb 2018 Christchurch Hagley Park Netball Courts

Sat 3 Mar 2018 Auckland - Henderson Trusts Arena

Sat 10 Mar 2018 Auckland - CBD The Cloud-

- This event will be both a normal 3x3 Quest Tour event, except for the Open Men's grade - only Open Mens grade teams that have qualified through previous tour events can play in the World Tour Qualifier Final at The Cloud on 10 March.

More information:

- www.basketball.org.nz/3X3

- play.fiba3x3.com

- Follow the event on Basketball New Zealands Social media accounts:

Facebook, Instagram, Twitter

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