TWO Indigenous basketball teams from BINAR Sports in Bellevue will travel to Shanghai, China next month for the 2016 Friendship Games.
One Under-17s girl’s team and an Under-17s boy’s team will travel to the games, where they will represent Australia.
Coach Adam Desmond said for many of the kids the competition would be the start of dreams to play basketball on an international stage.
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READ NOW“They are really excited. Most of the kids have never been on a plane, let alone to another country, so it’s going to open them up to another world,” he said.
“To these kids it could be the start of dreams to play basketball on an international stage and give them the confidence to pursue those dreams.”
The games are a cultural and sporting exchange program between WA and China in basketball, athletics, soccer and swimming.
Desmond said the trip would cost more than $50,000 to send the 20 young players to Shanghai, which had been made possible through sponsorship and fundraising.
“Five or six weeks ago it looked like it was going to be unlikely that we’d make it to Shanghai, but we’ve had some more sponsors come on board and have been fundraising heavily,” he said.
The 2016 Friendship Games Tour in Shanghai China will run from July 5 to 15.