- NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, Reliance Foundation Chair Nita Ambani and Sacramento Kings Owner Vivek Ranadivé Event at IES School-
- 1,000 Schools Across Eight Cities in India Have Participated in the Program -
The Reliance Foundation Jr. NBA program, a comprehensive school-based youth basketball programhas reached more than 750,000 youth in 1,000 schools in India since its launch in 2013.NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, Sacramento Kings owner, Vivek Ranadivé andReliance Foundation Chair Nita Ambanivisited the IES School,Dadar in Mumbai to celebrate this milestone. At the event, NBA Legend Vlade Divac hosted a basketball skills clinic for 100 students and interacted with coaches, providing valuable playing and coaching techniques.
“Reliance Foundation is committed to developing multiple sports at the grassroots level. We are delighted that the Reliance Foundation Jr. NBA program got off to an exciting start, by reaching out to hundreds of thousands of children in the very first year itself and providing them opportunities to discover and experience the fun and techniques of basketball,” said Ambani.“We are grateful to NBA for sharing their world-class expertise and resources, as well as the community of schools, coaches and physical education instructors for their wholehearted support to this initiative. Through this collaborative program, we are committed to igniting in millions of our youth a passion to explore and enjoy sport.”
The Reliance Foundation Jr. NBA program promotes health, fitness and an active lifestyle through basketball, and teaches the values of the game such as teamwork, sacrifice, discipline, dedication and sportsmanship. The program also features a combination of in-school and after-school activities along with basketball competitions.
I am excited to be in Mumbai to see the impact of our international basketball development programs first hand,” said Silver. “Our goal is to provide children in India with the opportunity to play and enjoy basketball, and I thank the Reliance Foundation for supporting our efforts to grow the game across the country.”
“It feels great to see such enthusiasm among kids for basketball in India,” said Ranadivé. “The way the Jr. NBA program is progressing; the day isn’t far when an Indian boy or girl will be playing in the NBA or WNBA.”
As part of the program, NBA Legends Bruce Bowen, andMuggsy Bogues and WNBA player Swin Cash have visited Chandigarh, Kolkata, Kochi, Ludhiana and Mumbaito conduct basketball clinics for players and coaches.
The goal is to reach one million youth and train 2,000 coaches and physical education instructors across India by 2016.
The Reliance Foundation Jr. NBA program consists of a Train the Trainerprogram for local coaches, in school basketball sessions for children in grades 3-10, elite training camps, as well as Hot Shot, 3-on-3 and 5-on-5 competitions. Each participating school receives essential equipment to encourage and facilitate participation among its students, including basketballs, whistles, air pumps and coaching guides. More than 15,000 basketballs and 300 basketball rims have been distributed to partner schools across India to facilitate access to the game.
Reliance Foundation (RF) aims to play a catalytic role in addressing the nation’s development challenges through innovative and sustainable solutions with its focus on five core pillars: Rural Transformation, Education, Health, Urban Renewal, and Promotion and protection of India’s Arts, Culture and Heritage. Smt. Nita M. Ambani is the Chairperson of Reliance Foundation and the guiding spirit behind the Foundation's ambitious vision of becoming the leading vehicle for social development, empowering the underprivileged and infusing social transformation in India. Reliance Foundation reaches out to over 5,500 villages and various urban locations across India.
The NBA is a global sports and media business built around three professional sports leagues: the National Basketball Association, the Women’s National Basketball Association, and the NBA Development League. The league has established a major international presence with offices in 13 markets worldwide, games and programming in 215 countries and territories in 47 languages, and NBA merchandise for sale in more than 125,000 stores in 100 countries on 6 continents. NBA rosters at the start of the 2014-15 season featured a record 101 international players from 37 countries and territories. NBA Digital’s assets include NBA TV, which is available in 60 million U.S. homes, and NBA.com, which recorded 26.9 billion page views during the 2013-14 season, with more than half of all visitors originating from outside of North America. The NBA is the No. 1 professional sports league on social media, with 700 million likes and followers globally across all league, team, and player platforms. Through NBA Cares, the league and its teams and players have donated more than $242 million to charity, completed more than 3 million hours of hands-on community service, and created more than 915 places where kids and families can live, learn, or play.
Contact:
Padma Rao | +919833180409 | Genesis Burson-Marsteller | padma.rao@bm.com
Gautam Sheth | +919869233393 | WordsWork | gautam@wordswork.com
Leeladhar Singh | +91 7738216155 | leeladhar.singh@ril.com
Farzan C. Damania|+918452040647|farzan.damania@imgreliance.com
