NBA'S 3-ON-3 SETS THE STANDARD

A collaborative effort between the Toronto Raptors and Basketball Manitoba, the NBA 3-on-3 Tournament proves to us how good an amateur sports event can be.

MSM Staff
June 2008

When the Toronto Raptors come to Winnipeg, it’s go big or go home.

“Go big” means setting up no less than 54 courts at Red River Exhibition Park for the NBA 3-on-3 tournament, (previously known as “Hoop-it-Up”) held May 31-June 1 and hosting more than 400 teams while welcoming 7,000 visitors.

It means procuring big-time sponsors like Rogers, Gatorade, Speed Stick, The Score, Canada Basketball, President’s Choice, and Black Diamond to help out with contests and giveaways.

And it also means bringing along 6’7” Toronto forward Joey Graham, who nicely fills the role of NBA ambassador, signing autographs, posing for pictures, and smiling broadly. “Nice to be here” says Graham to a grateful fan. The kids continue to crowd around him, and he signs—and smiles—for everyone.

De Freitas (left) relies on Wedlake and Basketball Manitoba to help bring the NBA experience to Winnipeg.

David De Freitas is smiling too. “Winnipeg’s definitely been a strong market,” says De Freitas, Manager of Hockey and Basketball Development for Maple Leaf Sports. “The minor basketball landscape here is awesome.”

That’s right folks. Winnipeg—the second stop on the Raptors’ cross-Canada tour—is the third largest 3-on-3 tournament in the country, behind only Toronto and Vancouver. That places us ahead of other host cities that include Edmonton, Calgary, London, Moncton, and Montreal.

Since striking a deal with the NBA that secured the league’s marketing rights north of the border, the Raptors are out to market themselves as Canada’s team, to be sure (“We’re able to bring the NBA experience across the country” says De Freitas). But they’re also big picture people with grand ideas about growing the sport at the grassroots level, and getting community feedback and participation is key.

“Community events are a big part of that (NBA) partnership. This is the third year of taking this tournament on, and we’ve been able to establish some really strong relationships with provincial governing bodies,” De Freitas says proudly. “And you need that local expertise. It’s great to be here for two days, but Adam and his team do this 365 days a year.”

Adam Wedlake, Basketball Manitoba’s executive director, has been involved with the tournament even since Hoop-It-Up’s predecessor—Streetball—in 1992. He and his team handle all local, on-site responsibilities including tournament registration, scheduling, and the organization of some 75 volunteers, plus officials, security, and first-aid staff.

And he’s certainly grateful for what the Raptors have done.

“They’re awesome to work with,” says Wedlake. “Their involvement is the best thing that could have happened to the tournament. They bring the professionalism that you need and are totally hands-on.”

“David is obviously an important guy at Maple Leaf Sports, and he and his staff are down here. They’re not farming this work out to some summer students.”

The crew’s commitment is evident at every turn, the product of two 16-hour days of unloading and set-up. From the 25-foot inflatables featuring NBA stars Yao Ming, Lebron James, and Canada’s Steve Nash, to the cheerleaders and the music, the stands are packed in time for Saturday’s slam dunk contest at center court. And the myriad of sponsor tents surrounding it, complete with giveaways (free Gatorade and Black Diamond CheeStrings are the big hits this weekend) will always be well received in the ‘Peg, of course.

It’s hard to imagine a better site. Hosting the tournament for the 8th year, Red River Exhibition Park is, as Wedlake says emphatically, not a parking lot. Located next to Assiniboia Downs, there’s ample parking within walking distance, on-site washrooms, and staff on garbage duty to keep the area presentable. Every other site in the country, Wedlake notes, utilizes a parking lot. “No oil slicks here,” he insists.

The players (more than 1,800 entrants, ranging in ages from 8-50) certainly appreciate the site, the event, and the fun atmosphere, as do the parents in attendance. Rick Okepnak watches his daughter Stephanie compete in the Rogers Streetball event, just one of a number of skills competitions that take place on sponsored courts throughout the event site.

“This is our first year in the tournament, and it’s great for the kids” smiles Okepnak. “They love the basketball and being here with their friends.”

Stephanie’s team—the Knights, in Division 53 (12 and under)—is set to play in the Sunday afternoon final. But that, according to Okepnak, is just a bonus. “They don’t even really care about winning. Just being here is fun.”

One of several major sponsors, Canada Basketball supplies a court and hosts a number of skills competitions.

No doubt about that. At its core, the event is simply a celebration of amateur sport with some professional flair. But despite the 3-on-3’s tremendous success, it appears that other sports are slow to follow the Raptors’ lead in creating a true community event that utilizes both the national sports association (Canada Basketball) as an event sponsor, and the provincial association as an event organizer.

Where, for example, is Canada’s other national team? Since the departure of the Montreal Expos for D.C. a few seasons ago, the Toronto Blue Jays remain Canada’s lone representative in Major League Baseball.

Jim Baba, Director General of Baseball Canada points out that they are working on a few school-based initiatives with MLB like Winterball, as well as Rally Cap, a modified form of baseball for kids aged 4-7. But, Baba acknowledges, “Baseball Canada and the Blue Jays are not planning a similar event (to the NBA’s) at present time.”

It seems like a missed opportunity to market the game of baseball across the country, particularly at a time when Canadians are competing—and excelling—at the major league level at an unprecedented rate.

If we consider our country’s contribution to golf (Mike Weir) respectable, and basketball (2-time MVP Nash) outstanding, our baseball contingent should be thought of as off the charts. Canada’s slew of young baseball stars includes Russell Martin, Ryan Braun, Ryan Dempster, Jeff Francis, Rich Harden, Eric Bedard, Adam Loewen, Jason Bay, and 2006 American League MVP Justin Morneau.

The Blue Jays declined to comment for this story.

In fairness, let’s not overlook basketball’s obvious advantages. For one, the game can be played outside, on pavement. Second, it can be modified to utilize a half-court, and be played one-on-one or in small teams.

Third, summer is the perfect time to play the modified game, and after 8 months in a winter wonderland, we can’t get enough of shorts and t-shirt weather.

And finally, if you want a professional like Graham to show up and show off, make sure your event is held during his offseason.

“Our off-season,” says baseball’s Baba, “is usually not conducive weather-wise to play the game (of baseball) outside.”

Truer words have never been spoken.

But in the final analysis, it’s the Raptors insistence on doing something different—using local expertise and community involvement—that sets them and this event apart. And their own self-interest (they and the league want to gain fans, of course), coupled with their genuine interest in growing the game across the country has yielded terrific results.

After two full days of set-up followed by two of competition, the Raptors crew packs up and are off to their next site (Vancouver). Wedlake and his team will soon begin preparing for next year’s tournament.

If history is any indicator, the ’09 edition will be bigger and even better.

And it will certainly be an event that the Raptors, Basketball Manitoba, our city and province will be proud of.