Community Vibes of Winnipeg have announced a new summer basketball program aimed to basketball players in the grades 10-12 range. The 5on5 tournament will run in July & August in downtown Winnipeg. Rep ur Hood is a chance for youth to showcase their basketball skills and work as a team. Opportunities are also available for young people who are interested in gaining project management experience to participate and learn. For full info...
How does it work? Partnerships will be formed with high schools and university students over the months of May to August. This 5-on-5 tournament is for boys and girls between grades 10-12 . Teams will be guaranteed 3 games and then there will be a single knockout format for the top 16 teams (similar to the NCAA College tournament). The kickoff for the tournament will be at the 4th Annual CV Cook Out event in Central Park, downtown Winnipeg on July 6, 2013. The games will be held from July 22 to August 24. The final game (August 24) will be held in a larger central venue.Entry Procedure: Invitations will be sent to individual schools for the tournament. Entries for the tournament will be done through the school and sent to tournament organizers. Receipts will then be issued for the entry fee. Teams are required to have an adult volunteer to be registered with the team. This volunteer can be the coach of the team but may also be an assistant coach or some one assigned by the coach in case of holiday . Entries will be due June 1, 2013.
How is this different from other basketball tournaments?
1) Reality TV Documentary – CV has recently partnered with Shaw TV to produced “The Vibe Show”. This show highlights various young professionals in our community. Shaw TV is interested in working on another project with CV and the idea would be to highlight some of the talented youth involved in “Rep Ur Hood” chronicling their passion for basketball and the obstacles they encounter while trying to fulfill their dreams. There would be a maximum of 8 youth featured (preferably 4 girls and 4 boys). This is an important piece, as youth in Winnipeg are not showcased on a consistent basis.
2) Educational campaign – We want to emphasize to students that education is the key. Through the tournament, the youth will have opportunities to earn scholarships and other prizes that will support them in their educational goals. These scholarships and prizes will include both the basketball players and the students involved in the project management.
3) Rep Ur Hood Street Teams – We would like youth who will go out in the community to help promote the games. The more people who can attend, the higher the profile for the school. The Street Teams will also work to increase the game experience for the spectators.
4) Creation of a mix tape – CV has spoken to Virgin 103.1 and they have agreed to put together a mix tape (i.e., music compilation) for Rep Ur Hood. This mix would include local artists as well as popular music in a promotional item for the students. This same compilation would be used for the Shaw TV documentary.
5) As highlighted before, schools will receive funds from the tournament once a team from their school has entered for a specified initiative from the school community.
How will youth have an opportunity to gain project management experience? The tournament will require a great deal of organization (i.e., setting up the brackets, coordination of game times, finding performers for the games, advertising, publicity, social media). We have developed a model to help train young people to gain experience:
1) Each school will select one student volunteer to help with the administration of the tournament. The name of the student will be included in the team entry. This student is NOT to be an athlete on the team.
2) The students will attend 1 orientation session and will be given information about the tournament and volunteer possibilities (i.e., media/communications, tournament administration, publicity, and game day crew).
3) Each student will meet with the CV Board of Directors immediately after the orientation to discuss which area they would like to contribute to.
4) Work-groups will be established and each group will have 2 mentors to help with the process.
They will be mentored by young professionals through CV and university students focused in recreation management. This will be an invaluable opportunity to gain experience and be involved. It would be a goal of ours to also have students gain high school or university credit for their involvement.
How do the schools benefit? It is our hope that we can fill the stands and get people to come out and support their team. As a result, schools will have the chance to fundraise for their school through admissions to the game as well as concessions and school merchandise. Further, it is our goal for each school to receive funds from the tournament for specified objectives for their school community. The objective would have to be included in the registration for the tournament and will be reviewed by the CV Board of Directors.
How will this information get out to the community and the schools? We are hoping for school tours to be done by CV and partners (from approximately April to May). This will work to stir up excitement about the tournament. The tours will introduce Rep Ur Hood to students. This will include interactions with local personalities (i.e., Tracy Koga, Shaw TV; Ace Burpee, Virgin 103.1 FM) and musical acts who will talk to the youth about the tournament and create the energy needed to engage youth.
For sponsorship info, email Donovan at dmartin@communityvibes.ca
This will be an exciting venture for us. Please consider entering a team from your school. More information will be available soon at www.communityvibes.ca. Feel free to send us an email at communityvibes@gmail.com with questions or to state your interest. You can also contact the tournament director, Troy Osiname, at 204-962-0109. We look forward to seeing your school ‘Rep Ur Hood’!
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