Basketball Week in Edmonton nominated for PRESTIGE Award
Alberta Basketball Association (ABA) is thrilled to learn that Basketball Week has been nominated for the Canadian Sport Tourism Alliance (CSTA) PRESTIGE Sport Event of the Year Award.
The CSTA International Sport Event of the Year Award recognizes the overall success of an outstanding international sport event held in Canada in 2019. Basketball Week is nominated in the Group B category, for events with a budget less than $2 million. The 2019 World Junior Curling Championships in Liverpool, N.S.; and ISU World Junior Short Track Championships in Montréal are also finalists.
Basketball Week comprises the FIBA 3X3 Challenger and FIBA 3X3 Women’s Series events that were held at West Edmonton Mall in September. The FIBA 3X3 Edmonton Challenger and Women’s Series were staged by ABA with the support of the City of Edmonton, Province of Alberta, and Edmonton Events.
The FIBA 3X3 Women’s Series made its Western Canadian debut on Sept. 21 and 22, followed on Sept. 28 and 29 with the second annual FIBA 3X3 Edmonton Challenger, the only event of its kind in Canada.
The FIBA 3X3 Women’s Series Edmonton was the final event of the tour’s inaugural 2019 season, and saw Canada top the United States in a thrilling championship game. The Czech Republic, Italy, Poland, and Spain also were part of the event, which featured four of the top six teams in the FIBA 3X3 Women’s Series standings.
NY Harlem defeated Novi Sad of Serbia to win the Edmonton Challenger championship final for a second straight year. Sixteen teams from around the globe took part in the event, which featured seven of the top 15 teams in the FIBA 3X3 World Tour standings competing for prize money and a berth in the FIBA 3X3 World Tour Masters in Nanjing, China.
Both events were staged at West Edmonton Mall’s Ice Palace, which was transformed from skating rink into a sprawling basketball playground to host the 3X3 competition. Courtside bleachers were constantly packed while many more watched from around the glass on both the upper and lower levels of the West Edmonton Mall concourse. The events included an array of entertainment, from music and dance performances to a pole-vaulting demonstration by world-class athletes.
CSTA’S PRESTIGE Awards celebrate the people, places and events that make the Canadian sport tourism industry so dynamic. They are presented annually in six categories to honour individuals, companies and organizations that have made outstanding contributions to the success of the sport tourism industry.
The Sport Event of the Year Award is presented by CBC Sports. To be eligible, the event rights holder must be an International governing body/entity and a Canadian community bid against other international communities and won the right to host the event in Canada. The event’s international broadcasting/streaming reach will be a significant part of the evaluation criteria.
The PRESTIGE Awards Networking Reception and Luncheon takes place March 25 in Hall D at the Edmonton Convention Centre, hosted by 2006 Olympic alpine skier and current CBC Broadcaster Kelly VanderBeek.
"ABA is very excited to be nominated for this prestigious award. It is a tribute to the hard work of our staff and volunteers," Paul Sir, ABA Executive Director, says. "It is also indicative of the effectiveness of our great partnership with the City of Edmonton, Edmonton Events, the Province of Alberta, Canada Basketball and FIBA 3X3. We want to thank the CSTA and look forward to the upcoming awards ceremony in March."
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