Edinburgh Nets 2008 Euro Basketball Championships
This blog post has been copied from the City of Edinburgh Council website. Follow this link to the original article.
Edinburgh has been chosen to host the 2008 Men's European 'C' Basketball Championships after a successful bid by the City of Edinburgh Council. Basketball Scotland confirmed this week that the event will take place at the Pleasance next June.
The Championships which are among the last major competitions before the Olympic Games in Beijing will run from Monday 16th June to Sunday 22nd June bringing together 8 top teams from across Europe.
City of Edinburgh Council Festival and Events Champion Steve Cardownie said: "I am delighted we have won the bid to host this event and look forward to welcoming the elite of the European game to Edinburgh. European Basketball is going from strength to strength and this is a great time for Edinburgh to be involved.
“We have worked closely with the University of Edinburgh to bring these major Championships to the City. The success of this joint approach to a sports event is very exciting and something that we are keen to build on for the future.
“The recent GB international which took place in Edinburgh went down a storm and I am sure that the European Championships which are right before Olympic Games will be equally popular.”
Jim Aitken Director of the Centre for Sport and Exercise at the University of Edinburgh said:
“The University of Edinburgh is absolutely delighted to join with City of Edinburgh Council and Basketball Scotland in bringing Championships to Edinburgh.
“Our top class sport and gym facilities at the Pleasance and our superb residential accommodation at Pollock Halls are amongst the best in Scotland and provide the perfect stage for a tournament of this prestige and right in the heart of the City.
“We look forward enormously to welcoming players, officials and visitors to the University and to Edinburgh next June."
Bill McInnes, Chairman of basketballscotland said:
"The return of senior men's international basketball to Edinburgh in next years European 'C' Championships will provide a major boost for basketball in Scotland. At a time when British basketball is looking forward to competing in the London Olympic Games in 2012, our Scottish men's team is ready to show that it can also move up to the next level.
“I am sure, that following the successful bid to bring the Men's 'C' Championships to Scotland for the first time and with the support of the City of Edinburgh Council and the provision of the University of Edinburgh's excellent facilities, the event will be an unforgettable festival of international basketball.”
Scotland could potentially go into the pot with Wales as well as other strong European teams. Many players competing play professionally in the top European leagues and many of the Scotland players compete each week in our own Scottish National League.
The last European Championships to be held in Scotland was in Aberdeen in 2005 where Scotland’s Under 18 women were triumphant, but this is the first Senior Men’s competition to be hosted in here.
This signs for Scottish success are good. Scotland Under-18 men walked away with the trophy in the recent C division championship held in Wales so home court advantage and support should bode well for the Scottish team.
Media contact: Gareth Jones, Media & Communications Officer, Tel: 0131 529 4430
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