CHENNAI: There was a time when every Corporation ground in the city had a well-maintained basketball court with youngsters practising regularly. Players from other districts also used to come and play here. The Magnolia Trophy all-India basketball tournament organised by MS Venkataraman was popular and the best teams in India participated in it. A few years back, Venkataraman shifted base to Bengaluru and the tournament has become defunct.
The MCTM School in Purasawalkam and Union Christian School in Chetpet are some of the institutions that conduct inter-school tournaments. These tournaments were only on an invitational basis with many CBSE and international schools missing out.
Although the TN Basketball Association conducts tournaments regularly, they were few and far in-between. This gave birth to the Hoops of Fire inter-school basketball which is entirely crowdfunded.
Three years back, Hoops of Fire started as a small inter-school tournament and has grown leaps and bounds to be one of the most sought after leagues in the state. Conceptualised and conducted by the HLC International School, the tournament has attracted several teams from across Tamil Nadu.
This year, which happens to be the fourth edition of the tournament, around 30 teams from districts like Salem, Thoothukudi, Thiruvallur, Chennai, Kanchipuram, Erode and Coimbatore will vie for top honours.
The tournament will be conducted in a league format for boys and girls in U-13 and U-16 age groups from today until November 23.
“Hoops of Fire is the culmination of thoughts of coach Ganesh Prabhu, parents and students of HLC International, to offer a chance where all the children get equal opportunities to showcase their skills. The event is crowdfunded with contributions from parents, teachers and backed by top companies,’’ said Saurav Mukherjee, father of Vihan who is studying in the seventh standard.
Basketball coach Ganesh believes that the tournament is good exposure for children. “While we have several individual players in the district and state-level tournaments, as a team, we were not having a proper outlet to display talent. The students who played state-level tournaments did not get opportunities to play. Hoops of Fire is based on the ideology to provide ample opportunities to all children and to reward them based on their talent,’’ opined Ganesh.
The event has garnered good interest from several schools in other districts with coaches themselves coming forward to take part. “When we heard that a basketball event is happening that includes U-13 students, we wanted to be the first to participate. Students will have good exposure and practice when they play in these leagues,’’ said Govindarajan, basketball coach of St Joseph’s school, Tiruchy.
The TNBA has been supporting the tournament. Although the event is crowd funded there is no compromise in the facilities. Comfortable lodging, quality food and snacks are offered to the participating students and faculty.