Cregmore N.S. Girls Basketball Blitz 23rd May 2023
On Tuesday, 23rd May, our Girls Basketball Blitz took place in our school hall and we were delighted once again, to be able to organise and host this event. This year was our biggest event to date with over one hundred girls, from local schools, getting a chance to participate in a full day of basketball and fun.
The tournament is in its 13th year now and has gone from strength to strength since it was first established in 2008. There are very few basketball competitions for primary school girls in the area and this gives them a great introduction to the game. What began as a very small local schools competition has now grown to one of the biggest events of its kind in the area and is supported by Basketball Ireland. The aim is to encourage primary school girls to play basketball and to provide them with a platform to showcase their skills and talents. This year Basketball Ireland were promoting the FIBA (International Basketball Federation) campaign ‘Her World, Her Rules’ which is global initiative that aims to promote women’s and girl’s basketball. All the players were delighted to received a gear bag, drink bottle and treat with the slogan #Her World, Her Rules, thanks to Mike Murray for supporting our event this year.
This year twenty six very competitive games were played, with over one hundred girls from ten primary schools around Galway participating in the Blitz. The schools included Cregmore N.S., Lisheenkyle N.S., Lackagh N.S., Coolarne N.S., Athenry N.S., Brierhill N.S., Oranmore N.S., Craughwell N.S., New Inn N.S. and Newcastle N.S . The ten schools competed in a number of games throughout the day for the Shield and Final Four Competitions. Athenry N.S. defeated Lackagh N.S. in a very competitive Shield final. Both teams were keen to give it their all and were very evenly matched. The atmosphere was electric and Athenry N.S. came out on top by a narrow margin of two baskets.
Cregmore, Oranmore, Lisheenkyle and Newcastle were successful in reaching the Final Four Competition. Cregmore played Lisheenkyle and although they gave their best efforts lost by three baskets. Newcastle defeated Oranmore and seemed like they were on a winning streak. Then a very exciting final was played where Newcastle N.S. came out victorious against Lisheenkyle by a margin of only two baskets, both sides showing a superb display of basketball.
Special thanks to Naomi from University Galway Mystics who volunteered her time officiating most of the games. We were delighted to see over one hundred girls from schools around the county getting to socialise together and display their talents in basketball. Competition coordinators Anna Marie Coyle & Michelle Fahy thanked all the girls for participating and encouraged them to continue playing in secondary school and to perhaps consider joining their local clubs. Nobody went home empty handed and following the presentation of the trophies and medals, all participating girls received a goodie bag to send them home happy.