Hoops bring hope to Bridgetown
Youngsters from Bridgetown and surrounds were thrilled to shoot hoops at the launch of the Bridgetown Lakers Basketball Club on Saturday.
The refurbishment of the Cornflower Sports Field basketball court was funded by the Whitaker Peace and Development Initiative and the National Basketball Association (NBA) Africa. The new basketball court opened on Wednesday November 22, last year (“New basketball court for Athlone,” Athlone News, November 29, 2023), but the official launch happened at the weekend attended by about 300 people including many youngsters who played games and got training tips from coaches.
“Thirty or 40 years ago, I played sport here, and this field was always full, and it is heading that way again,” said Bridgetown Community Development Forum chairman Chris Osborne.
“A child in sport is a child out of court, and we hope that more youth will take up a sport. The turn-out today is tremendous.”
Municipality facility manger and basketball coach Thaabiet Ryklief said that when he had started teaching basketball a few years ago, there had not been enough resources for the players, but that had changed.
More children needed to be exposed to sport, he said, adding that the 80 basketball players at the launch had come from Cypress, Blossom, and Bridgeville primary schools and Peak View and Athlone high schools. And a Langa community team had also taken part.
“This is so important in the community. Athlone is well- known for it’s sport. Everybody jumped onto the wagon and wants to be a part of it. No one really knew about basketball because the sport had never been introduced here. Basketball is now huge for this community; we are trying to grow it. It’s a step in the right direction,” he said.
Tyreez Assure, 16, started playing basketball four years ago.
“I found the thing that I’ve been missing,” he said. “Basketball makes me happy. It is bringing more joy and happiness in my life, and I am making more friends. More youth should play sport to keep them out of the streets and get them out of poverty, drugs, and corruption. This basketball pitch was much needed. We always had to travel and look for people to take us where we needed to play. Now we can come here whenever to need to.”
Shiloh Hoyee, 12, said she had started playing basketball at the start of the year.
“I feel happy that now I can actually play here and don’t have to drive so far,” she said.
