SCO - Olympian endorses landmark first School of Basketball in Scotland

NORTH AYRSHIRE - Great Britain forward and Olympian Kieron Achara has given his backing to the opening of the first ever School of Basketball in his native Scotland.

The proud Scotsman expressed his delight at the opening of the Ardrossan Academy in North Ayshire which is a landmark project and an integral part of developing the sport in the nation via a plan laid down by BasketballScotland.

"I think it is vital that we are focusing development at the grassroots level so our youth are not playing catch up with the rest of the world when they finally start playing at international level" insisted Achara.

"Having a School of Basketball is great for the sport in this country and is a step forward on a long journey to becoming a strong basketball nation".

Earlier this year, North Ayrshire Council announced a partnership with basketballscotland and two other governing bodies, to create a number of Schools of Sport at Ardrossan, Auchenharvie and Irvine Royal Academies.

The programme at the new Ardrossan Academy will see around twenty pupils from receiving between six and eight hours of training on a weekly basis.

Crucially it will also support the delivery of the Curriculum for Excellence and will focus on basketball skills, game sense skills, physical competencies, lifestyle management and mental skills.

This initiative is supported by money seized from convicted criminal activity through a scheme called CashBack for Communities.

And, with the project also anticipated to have a wider social impact, it was naturally very well received by politicians including Justice Minister Kenny MacAskill who has given his backing to the scheme right from the planning stage.

He said, "CashBack programmes improve opportunities, self-confidence and self-esteem for our young people."

At a local level, the Academy was also given warm praise by Councilor Allan Hill, North Ayrshire Council's Cabinet Member for Community and Culture.

He explained, "Investing in our young people will always be money well spent.

"The Schools of Sport programme is an exciting opportunity for our young people, encouraging them to participate in sport, developing community sports club, and raising the profile of sport at a local and national level".

Meanwhile Kevin Pringle, Chief Executive Officer at basketballscotland expressed his glee with what could be the first step of an exciting programme moving forward.

"This is a pilot project which we expect to provide us with the evidence which will allow us to develop partnerships to deliver schools of basketball throughout Scotland over the coming years".

FIBA