For three nights in mid-November, the Multipurpose Sports Complex will jump to life as players converge for the inaugural annual Stop the Violence 3 on 3 Basketball Tournament which will feature a quantum of teams comprising players from age nine to adults 45 and over.

In an effort to combat the increasing crime wave sweeping theTerritory, the newly formed Virgin Islands Basketball Association’s (VIBA) tournament which has been sanctioned by the BVI Basketball Federation (BVIBF), commences on Friday, November 14th and continues through to November 16.

Registration forms are already available at the leading supermarkets on Tortola , the StandPoint Office at Qwomar Trading Complex (2) and Buck’s Supermarket on Virgin Gorda. Registration deadline is Saturday November 8.

President of VIBA, Elton Callwood said that the idea of hosting a fast-paced 3 on 3 competition, which will give players an opportunity to showcase more of their skills in half-court, had been studied for several months.

“This is an idea that was being discussed with several key persons in the basketball fraternity for several months and after much input we decided to press ahead. But, as a non-profit orgainsation, we are also concerned about the upward swing in violence and with so many youth involved in the game, we decided that bringing them together for clean healthy fun would be ideal in achieving our organisation’s goal of alleviating crime in these beautiful Virgin Islands,” Callwood stated.

He added that with little or no excitement at this time of the year, it is VIBA’s goal to provide meaningful entertainment while raising money to assist in the alleviation of crime.

According to Callwood, proceeds from the tournament will be donated to the Youth Empowerment Programme (YEP) and the Social Development Department, Big Brother Mentorship Programme.

“We can no longer afford to sit and be observers, but we must try to identify ways where we can assist the society to be a better place. These programmes that we have selected are playing a meaningful role in society and we must join to assist them,” Callwood pointed out.

He stated that sponsorship has already been sought and the response thus far has been fair, noting that many companies are enthusiastic about the idea.

The tournament is open to both male and female of all ages and players will be placed in the junior, intermediate, senior, old school, female and masters division. Trophies will be distributed to the winners along with cash prizes for the winner in each division.

Commenting on the inclusion of senior and female players in the tournament, Callwood stated that too often these players are overlooked.

“We don’t have a league for our female players and there are many who would like to play so this is an opportunity for them to get themselves into a team and come out. We are also looking to attract the greats of the local game – the over 40s who would have hung up their sneakers years ago. Of course many of our youths don’t know that some of our adults may still have their skills. I anticipate a weekend of clean, pure wholesome entertainment for the family,” Callwood alluded.

For more information about the tournament, feel free to contact Elton Callwood on 542-0121 or Gordon French on 441-7779.

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