|
Special Olympics European Basketball Week 2005 brought a sharp focus to the growth of the sport across the Europe/Eurasia region. Building on the success of last year's inaugural event, this year's Basketball Week involved more than 10,000 children and adults with intellectual disabilities in 30 countries, attracting the support and assistance of numerous professional basketball clubs and federations. Basketball Week – held 26 November - 4 December – is the flagship event of the FIBA Europe-Special Olympics Europe/Eurasia partnership that was established in May 2004 with the signing of an agreement of cooperation to develop basketball for players with intellectual disabilities.
The following is just a sampling of how the thousands of children and adults athletes with intellectual disabilities, male and female, showcased their skills and determination on courts in the region.
< More on Special Olympics European Basketball Week, including schedule of events and background information >
Azerbaijan: Federation and Ministry support tournament in Baku
Special Olympics Azerbaijan held a tournament in Baku from 28 November-1 December 2005 involving 100 Special Olympics basketball players between the ages of 15-21 from Baku and four regions. The tournament was supported by the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Tourism and the Azerbaijan Basketball Federation. Players competed at the Sports Academy while the awards ceremony was held at the Olympic Complex. Special Olympics players received gifts from the basketball federation and Coca-Cola. The tournament received excellent media coverage with reports on national television and by several other broadcasters.
Special Olympics and top players high five on courts in Italy
Special Olympics basketball players in Italy took to the court during professional games in two cities at the start of Basketball Week at the end of November. In Legnano, Special Olympics teams played during the Italian Serie C (third division) game – Forgiatura Marcora Legnano vs. C. R. Aba Saluzzo. Meanwhile, in Biella, Special Olympics teams played during halftime of the Italian Serie A (Premier League) game between Angelico Biella and Snaidero Udine. Special Olympics players were thrilled to high five some of the giants of Italian basketball and play a little ball with them before the start of the second half. The Italian Basketball League continued its support of Special Olympics Italy during the events. Regional television covered the action.
Basketball fever makes Lithuania sizzle in December
 |
The court sizzled with action from Special Olympics and professional players. (Photo by Miroslaw Krogulec, Special Olympics Europe/Eurasia) |
Basketball fever in Lithuania was as high as ever as Special Olympics players participated with the giants of professional basketball at a tournament held at the Arvydas Sabonis Basketball School on 1 December 2005. Twenty male and female teams consisting of three players and representing 17 regions were on the court with 15 professional players from men's and women's clubs Zalgris, Atletes, Lkka and Laisve.
Line Dambrauskaite, coach and European Champion player, enjoyed the event and said: "It is natural for all players to attend such great initiatives as this Special Olympics tournament. It can provide us all with a great lesson in life."
Vladas Garastas, President, Lithuanian Basketball Federation, said: "We want to promote basketball as a sport for everyone and Special Olympics is a good example of how basketball can be used to encourage integration."
 |
Special Olympics athlete Sigitas Paulaskas, 36, had the honor of presenting professional players with their participation medals. (Photo by Miroslaw Krogulec, Special Olympics Europe/Eurasia) |
Prior to the tournament, Special Olympics Lithuania organized seven regional 3-on-3 half court basketball tournaments in Kaunas, Klaipeda, Vilnius, Panevezys, Rokiskis, Jurdaiciai for 250 players. In 2006 Special Olympics Lithuania will organize eight basketball competitions that will involve 1,000 players.
Special Olympics Moldova holds basketball competitions, coaches training
From 27 November to 4 December 2005, 120 Special Olympics players competed in basketball competitions in the capital city of Chisinau. Competitions were held for players between the ages of 11-13 and 13-16. In addition to the competitions, a national coaches training seminar was held as part of a plan to develop basketball in Moldova. The Moldovan Basketball Federation supported the events. Opening Ceremonies were attended by distinguished guests. During Closing Ceremonies athletes received gifts. The events received good media coverage.
 |
Basketball players, coaches, volunteers and guests come together. (Photo courtesy of Special Olympics Moldova) |
Special Olympics Poland players join top men's, women's teams on court in show of solidarity
 |
Special Olympics and professional players from First Division AZS Koszalin and Stal Ostrów meet on the court in Koszalin. (Photo courtesy of Special Olympics Poland)
|
From 2-4 December 2005, Poland's First Division men's and women's teams came out in force to support Special Olympics Poland during Basketball Week. All the top teams wore specially designed T-shirts carrying the Special Olympics Poland and FIBA Europe logos prior to important games. During the games, Special Olympics players came onto the court carrying a Special Olympics banner for all spectators to see while stadium announcers explained the significance of Basketball Week. Three of the games, which included Special Olympics presentations, were broadcast on National Polish Television Channel 3. These events were supported by the Dominet Basket Liga (men's teams), the national women's league and the Polish Basketball Federation. Also during Basketball Week, mroe than 350 Special Olympics players competed in seven regional tournaments.
Special Olympics Romania pulls out all stops to ensure high-energy court action
 |
Special Olympics Romania athlete protects the ball in fast-paced action during Basketball Week. (Photo by Adrian Oianu) |
Basketballs were swishin', sinkin' and bouncin' at the second annual national basketball competition in Romania. Eight teams came together for the final competition in Bucharest on 27 November 2005. The teams included athletes from Timisoara, Sibiu-Turnu Rosu, Ploiesti, Cluj, Buzau and Bucharest. Male and female teams and a Unified Sports® team participated in events.
The big event located at the National Academy for Physical Education (ANEFS) and Sports Stadium was organized by Special Olympics Romania, the Romanian Basketball Federation and the ANEFS. Volunteers from the Sports Academy spent the weekend refereeing and assisting in fun-filled basketball games.
The basketball federation was very enthusiastic for their first-ever partnership with Special Olympics. President Carmen Tocala was impressed by the current program and promised continuing support to expand the program to more schools in more counties.
 |
Special Olympics Romania athlete practices his jump shot. (Photo by Adrian Oianu) |
The basketball federation had a special surprise during the event. Six of the nation's best players athletes came to play a Unified game with the Special Olympics players. Players from Dinamo Bucharest and the national women's team helped create a thrilling day for Special Olympics players.
The day before, on 26 November, a conference designed to expand the Special Olympics basketball program was held. Alina Moanta, professor, National Academy of Physical Education and Sports; Tudor Costescu, national training coach; and Viorel Mocanu, sports director, Special Olympics Romania, facilitated participants, including teachers from special schools, professors and teachers from sports universities. The team came up with plans that will improve basketball participation in special schools across the country.
Grass-roots basketball and community spirit thrive in Yartsevo in Russia
 |
Special Olympics and local champions pose after the game. (Photo by Martha Jo Braycich, Special Olympics Europe/Eurasia). |
Grass-roots basketball was at its finest in Yartsevo, a small town in the Smolensk Region of Russia, on 1 December 2005. Two teams from the local internat (boarding school) played ball with the local youth champion team at the municipal sports hall. The audience, a small, lively group of young people from the boarding school, proved to be partisan in their support. While there was polite, subdued applause when the local champs scored, the audience went wild when their own team scored. Local media captured the scenes on and off the court.
 |
There's a lot of support for the team from the internat, with Director Sergei Volodin (second from right on bench) leading the cheers. (Photo by Martha Jo Braycich, Special Olympics Europe/Eurasia) |
Internat Director Sergei Volodin, who sat with his young charges, said: "Basketball gives our children a chance to get out in the community, to have contact with others, and to travel." This is not the first time that the teams had met on the court. "Even though we have a small gymnasium, we invite local teams to come up and play with us and our teams get out and play in local competitions," Volodin said. The internat is home to 167 young people between the ages of 7-19. It was founded in 1944, the year before World War II ended. At that time, it was home to children who had lost their parents in the war. In 1987, children with intellectual disabilities started to be admitted to the internat. The internat has had a Special Olympics Program since 2000. As part of the Smolensk Region, local Special Olympics activities receive USAID funding.
 |
Partners for the Smolensk sub-Program met before the basketball competition. The meeting included (l-r) Lydia Lemke, Special Olympics Coordinator for Smolensk; local Special Olympics athlete Eugine Goncharov; Yury K. Synkin, Deputy Governor of Smolensk Region and Special Olympics President; Aleksandr Lysarkov, head of the sports committee of Smolensk. (Photo by Martha Jo Braycich, Special Olympics Europe/Eurasia) |
Lydia Lemke, Special Olympics coordinator for Smolensk, said that these types of grass-roots events depend on establishing strong partnerships with local and regional authorities. For instance, the local sports hall was used free of charge as part of the community's plans for the development of sports for people with disabilities, a plan headed by Vladimir Heikov.
Another partnership providing excellent support is at the regional level. Yury K. Synkin, Deputy Governor of Smolensk Region, is also President of the Special Olympics sub-Program. "We still have a long way to go before people with disabilities are fully integrated, but we are working on making the conditions right, including changing public attitude, so inclusion will be a reality some day," he said.
Basketball crosses generations to create friendships
 |
Vladimir Zuikov, 40 (left), and Fedor Vasiliev, 17, have gotten to know each other because they share a love of basketball. [Photo by Martha Jo Braycich, Special Olympics Europe/Eurasia]
|
Basketball has brought together two unlikely friends Vladimir Zuikov, 40, and Fedor Vasiliev, 17. Zuikov, tall and lean, is a former professional player with the local team in Yartsevo who now coaches and is director of the sports hall where Basketball Week took place. His team has been playing at the local internat for about five years. "The team likes to help the young guys from the internat. We can pass on our experience to them and we can help them fulfil their desire to play basketball," he said. Vasiliev, a shy and reserved teenager, looks forward to the visits of the local team to the internat. "I play center and I get good tips from Vladimir. The local team teaches us to play well and as a result I am part of a great team." Vasiliev, who is a ward of the state, has been living at the internat for about 10 years. "When Vasiliev was a child, he was very thin, but since he started playing basketball he has become physically stronger, more self-confident and he realizes now that he has a future," said Sergei Volodin, Internat Director.
In Ockelbo, Sweden, everyone loves basketball
 |
Basketball action in Ockelbo, Sweden, during Basketball Week. (Photo courtesy Special Olympics Sweden) |
In the small town of Ockelbo, in east central Sweden, almost everyone is a basketball fan and and nearly 20 percent of the citizens are members of the local basketball club. The town is also home to Premier League club Ockelbo. Special Olympics has not been left out of this basketball "love fest," with 15 players making up BK Framtiden. The Special Olympics players also have a big job helping the Premier League players as assistant coaches. So it was only natural to select the city to host Basketball Week.
This year, from 2-3 December 2005, six teams comprised of players from Umea, Stockholm, Sollentuna and Gothenburg came to Ockelbo to participate in a tournament. Three of the teams were club teams; they train one or two times a week all year-around. Three other teams were from special schools where sports is high on the curriculum.
The Basketball Week event included a training seminar and clinic with Premier League players before divisioning and a lively tournament. But the highlight event was on 3 December when Special Olympics players were invited to play to a full house of 1,000 spectators during halftime when the home team Ockelbo played national champions Sodertalje.
 |
One of the Special Olympics Sweden teams that competed in the tournament. (Photo courtesy Special Olympics Sweden) |
The game was covered live on Swedish television; Special Olympics basketball player Bo Stark was interviewed. Several articles appeared in regional newspapers and the Swedish Basketball Federation posted information on its Web site.
Regional and national tournaments held in Turkey
Special Olympics Turkey organized tournaments in seven regions with the participation of athletes from 20 cities to celebrate Basketball Week. Teams played for a place in a two-day national tournament that was held in Zonguldak. In Burdur, 180 Special Olympics players took part in a three-day Federation Cup event. High-level regional and municipal representatives, family members and the media attended both tournaments.
3,000 spectators roar their approval for Special Olympics players in Kiev
 |
Special Olympics players presented themselves to 3,000 spectators at the EuroCup game in Kiev. [Photo by Miroslaw Krogulec, Special Olympics Europe/Eurasia] |
More than 800 Special Olympics Ukraine players from 16 cities participated in local and regional tournaments while some players had the chance to participate in demonstrations at Super League games. Basketball clubs that supported Special Olympics were Kiev, Odessa, Mykolaiv, Dnipro, Lvivska politehnika, Cherkasky mavpy, Azovmash, Cherkaski mavpy, Polytechnic and '93-pulsar.
In addition to the Super League, this year's Basketball Week events were supported by Zurab Khromayev, President, Ukrainian Basketball Federation, and the legendary Alexander Volkov. Volkov is a former U.S. National Basketball Association player, current member of the FIBA Europe Board and Special Olympics Europe/Eurasia basketball ambassador.
 |
Basketball legend Aleksander Volkov gave Special Olympics player Andrey Zaychenko some tips during halftime of the EuroCup game. (Photo by Miroslaw Krogulec, Special Olympics Europe/Eurasia) |
The highlight of the week was a promotional event on 29 November during halftime of the EuroCup qualification game between BC Kyiv and Lokomotive Rostov in Kiev. One hundred Special Olympics players were invited to Dworec Sporta, the most prestigious sport hall in Kiev, to promote Special Olympics. Three thousand spectators, including the Minister of Sport, the Vice Prime Minister, basketball stars and sponsors, were greeted by Prof. Sergiy Komisarenko, President, Special Olympics Ukraine, and Timothy Shriver, Special Olympics Chairman of the Board. When Shriver, addressing the crowd, asked: "Do they deserve to play basketball?" all of the spectators yelled "Yes!" Each Special Olympics athlete was presented with a basketball from Volkov, Shriver and Michael Smith, Managing Director, Special Olympics Europe/Eurasia. The event was broadcast live on national television.
|
