NEW YORK: The NBA is all set to host a Junior World Championship for the first time ever in association with energy drinks giant Gatorade, which will be a global youth basketball tournament between teams from around the world featuring the best 13 and 14-year-old players. There will be eight teams competing against each other in the boys and the girls categories.
The tournament will be hosted at the state-of-the-art ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida from August 7-12 this year.
Gatorade is also partnering the NBA for the eight regional tournaments played, that will decide which teams will represent the USA. The selected players will receive an all-expenses-paid-trip to Florida.
In Florida, the company will support the event’s off-court programming, including Gatorade Sports Science Institute athlete testing as well as heat safety and hydration sessions with professional athlete speakers, besides offering participants a variety of products to use and their signage at each regional competition as well as the global event.
The idea of the event is not just to identify the best talent across the US but to nurture them as well as the regional competitions will involve life skills sessions led by current and former NBA and WNBA players including, Spencer Dinwiddie, Cherokee Parks, Sam Perkins, Derrick Coleman, Tamika Catchings and Alvin Williams.
In addition to promoting the core values of the game – Teamwork, Respect, Determination and Community, the Junior NBA World Championship also aligns with the NBA and USA Basketball Youth Guidelines that aim to improve the way children, parents and coaches experience the game. This includes an emphasis on promoting player health and wellness and age-appropriate rules and standards.
Gatorade and the NBA go back a long way, as its association of being the league’s official sports drink partner began in 1984. It is also an official partner of the WNBA and the entitlement partner of the NBA G League.
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