"Hoops For Schools - the 360-degree school model impacting youngsters beyond the basketball court through gamification"
The COVID-19 pandemic enormously impacted the sporting community, especially at the grassroots level. Its impact might be long-lasting unless immediate action, such as initiatives by international sporting bodies like FIBA Europe, is not taken to reverse it.
FIBA Europe, as the basketball governing body in Europe, has been investing a lot of resources in the development of youth over the past 10 years, becoming one of the biggest assets for the international federation. Through the Youth Development Program, FIBA Europe would like to introduce to all National Federations the possibility of participating in this innovative school program, "Hoops 4 Schools".
The main goal of the "Hoops 4 Schools" project is to encourage kids and youngsters from all over Europe to participate in a multi-dimensional basketball program targeting primary schools (children between 6 and 12 years old) and to raise awareness about the importance of physical activity benefiting from the use of the new technologies to maximize the impact.
The school resources will utilize the game of basketball as a vehicle to impact the children in developing mental, physical, and social skills on multiple levels by:
Learning and understanding the fundamentals of basketball through fun and engaging game-based activities → DISCOVER BASKETBALL
Educating on social values like inclusion, tolerance, respect, peace, non-discrimination, equality, justice, non-violence, and sustainability → BASKETBALL FOR GOOD
The FIBA Foundation, as the social and legacy arm of FIBA, will help develop the social school resources showcasing the diverse Basketball For Good actions they implement globally.
Thanks to the use of new technologies and a gamification approach, "Hoops 4 Schools" will raise awareness and interest in sport and enable behavioral changes for consumption through innovative and fun/engaging activities.
Schools and PE teachers participating in the program will receive a set of digitalized tools introduced thanks to user-friendly platforms to facilitate accessibility to the developed resources. These new tools will help federations and schools to develop structured and sustainable programs linked to their national curriculum.
"Hoops 4 Schools" will open a new era for the FIBA Europe Youth Development Program; it presents an excellent opportunity for the European National Federations to build bridges between schools, local clubs, and the whole community to attract new youngsters to basketball.
To help manage the implementation rollout of this new project, FIBA Europe will be looking for federations interested in becoming testers of the resources. All information will be shared beginning of 2024.