VANUATU – There is a small Pacific Island that sits 1,750 kilometers east of Australia's northern tip call Vanuatu. Even with a population of just 280,000, the Vanuatu Basketball Federation (VBF) is doing some big things.

In December of this year, Vanuatu will host the Van2017 Pacific Mini Games bringing teams from all across the Pacific to compete in their respective sports. This year’s event will include 3x3 basketball for the first time ever, adding to the momentum the discipline is gaining after being announced as an inclusion to the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.

Leading up to Van2017, the VBF is hosting more and more 3x3 events in country to help prepare their men’s and women’s teams for December.

But 3x3 is more than just a game in Vanuatu, it is an integral part of the VBF’s Hoops for Health (H4H) program.

With minimal indoor facilities in Vanuatu, 3x3 serves as a great avenue for people of all ages to get involved in basketball. This involvement is boosted through the VBF’s commitment to delivering the H4H program in schools and the community.

Many organisations in Vanuatu have been taking notice of the positive impact the VBF is having on the community resulting in basketball partnering many great causes including the Kipim Vanuatu Klin Campaign, Vanuatu Women in Sports Day events plus the Van2017 and Vanuatu Association of Sports and National Olympic Committee (VASANOC) Protect What Matters Day.

If you would like to find out more about the H4H program please see the video below.

With the H4H program, 3x3 activity and the Van2017 competition around the corner, basketball’s popularity is rapidly growing in Vanuatu and doesn’t look like slowing down anytime soon.

The VBF H4H program is made possible by Australian Government funding through the Pacific Sports Partnership Program.

FIBA