Belize Basketball Assn. teams up with F.C.I.B. for teen camp
The Belize Basketball Association has joined other organisations in providing opportunities for wholesome activities at this time of the year when schools are closed for the summer break. The B.B.A. has teamed up with FirstCaribbean Bank in jointly sponsoring a training camp exclusively for teenagers. Today News Five spoke to representatives from both organisations.
Cojac Smith, Representative, FirstCaribbean
“FirstCaribbean is sponsoring and promoting along with the B.D.F. for kids between the ages thirteen to sixteen whereby we have kids doing constructive stuff rather than just wasting time in the summer. We’ll be having first a three day work out camp where we will be teaching the fundamentals of basketball and then we have two weeks of tournament. FirstCaribbean is promoting—it’s also a promotion to get kids involved in saving and having an account at a young age. The registration is twenty-dollars, however the twenty dollars goes directly to the kids account. Whenever you get registered for the camp you open an account as well.”
Brads Neal, Vice President B.B.A.
“First time we venture into the age of thirteen through sixteen cause we see right now this is the need where kids are not really playing basketball and it’s also we’re having a lot of problems with the youths this age in our community. So we’re hoping that this is gonna be an outreach for the kids to come on out and get an opportunity to play basketball and have good time, build some new relationships and friendships. But most importantly we want to get these kids to understand the importance of developing their own personal skills; basketball skills and hopefully there’s gonna be a transition of that into life and also to develop their skills to play with each other. That’s a major problem right now when it comes playing basketball in Belize. Everybody got their individual game but the team concept is the missing element.”
“Well amazingly, what this is also covering is we have this scholars game coming up in September where we have the Gwen Liz girls gonna be representing us in those games. So we’ve invited them to the camp. They’re gonna be participating in the skills part of it but also in the competition phase of it that they can get some games to prep themselves for the upcoming tournament. So that’s what this is about.”
Tiffarah Swift, Camp Participant
“I like the camp because nothing else deh fi do during summer. So dah mostly work out and I love basketball too so I just come da di camp fi fun and fi try get wah scholarship fi go weh.”
Jose Sanchez
“You have any championships underneath your belt?”
Tiffarah Swift
“Two, two championships and two nationals.”
Shane Lemoth, Camp Participant
“What they are trying to do here at the camp is to build the sportsmanship between each other and so I just want to thank Mr. Brads and everyone at the camp.”
Applications for the camp are available at the Sports Council’s Belize City office. At the end of the program all the kids will get a savings account with FirstCaribbean Bank.
