Celebrating Americas Mini Basketball Convention in Argentina

BUENOS AIRES ( Argentina) – Organized jointly by the FIBA Foundation and the Argentine Basketball Confederation (CAB), the 2022 Mini Basketball Convention of the Americas was held in Buenos Aires from October 6-9.

The Convention saw 19 delegates of Latin American National Federations participating, with representation of men and women in alignment with FIBA’s strategic pillar of women in basketball. The delegates who were present are responsible for the development of Mini Basketball in their respective countries. The main objective of this movement is to promote Basketball For Good for boys and girls aged 5 to 12 years old.

"This Convention was combined with the virtual seminar we organized in 2021 and we are very proud that the same Federations and delegates were participating to ensure the continuation of the program. We will now continue to build on this and guide them along their respective paths. Seeing more than 12,000 children in the Mini Basketball Jamboree, which had my name, is definitely one of the top 5 basketball memories of my life," said Horacio Muratore, President of the FIBA Foundation.

 

The Convention, which was held in the Americas for the third time, began with a conference for delegates from the National Federations to become familiarized with the required tools to develop Mini Basketball in their country.

"I feel super motivated and confident now about the future development of Mini Basketball. This event is extremely important as it also shows the social side of basketball and the positive impact it can bring to people's lives and how its values can help societies and keep young people on the right track," said Héctor José, delegate of the Nicaraguan Basketball Federation (FENIBAL).

During the first day, a summary and the key learnings from the 2021 virtual seminar guide were shared and reviewed. In addition, the delegates worked on how to develop and add a social component to Mini Basketball activities for enriching the collective work in their respective National Federations.

 The program combined theoretical and practical sessions as well as an interactive workshop led by the FIBA Foundation to strengthen the Basketball For Good Movement in Latin America.

"Through basketball, development programs can be created to provide more shared spaces for playing and learning. What I will take home to my country from the Convention is the approach of blending community impact, youth leadership and Mini Basketball as tools to develop all the important aspects of Basketball For Good, "said Yenny Pinilla, delegate of the Colombian Basketball Federation.

The second part of the Convention was a Jamboree, the 47th National Mini Basketball Festival "Horacio Muratore" in Argentina, where more than 12 thousand children from Argentina participated in what was a huge basketball festival in the Technopolis campus in the city of Buenos Aires. The event was organized by the Basketball Federation of the Federal Capital (FEBAMBA) together with the Metropolitan Women's Association (AFMB), supported by the CAB.

The event comprised the traditional parade of clubs, accompanied by a show of circus artists, music, dance, animation, and 3×3 matches. Participating teams of adapted basketball formats were a stellar example of the inclusion framework as an important pillar of all events and activities carried out by these entities.

CAB President Fabián Borro declared: “The Mini Basketball Festival is a unique experience. We took this as a chance to move on to the post-pandemic after 3 years, which was a worthwhile challenge, observing the region’s capacity to mobilize basketball clubs and the little ones getting to celebrate this occasion. Hosting the FIBA Foundation's Mini Basketball Americas Convention at the same time was an honor. We  were able to show the popularity of Argentine basketball and share our event with the leaders of Mini Basketball in Latin America.”

Moving forward after the Convention, the delegates of the National Federations have committed themselves to continue carrying out Mini Basketball projects to strengthen the grassroots level of the sport. They are looking to the future with hope and faith, aiming to form ties between all countries, with the main purpose of being able to grow the basketball values in their region.

About Mini Basketball:

The FIBA Foundation’s Mini Basketball program is a global Basketball For Good initiative to improve health and well-being of 5-12 year old children and to fight physical inactivity and childhood obesity. It is an inclusive grassroots basketball movement addressed to girls and boys and their parents and uses fun & game-based learning.

FIBA