In 2021, Basketball England’s #ProjectSwish distributed more than 3200 free nets out to ballers at nearly 1300 outdoor courts across the country - a marked increase on 2020's numbers of 2676 and 1023.
But it is not just about putting up nets.
Following year-on-year growth for each of the three years since its launch, the project has also helped individuals and organisations discover and upgrade local outdoor courts through BE's advice and activation guide, resulting in a range of full refurbs and amazing art-courts across the country.
“From Rucker Park in New York to Summerfield Park in Birmingham, outdoor basketball courts are iconic places for communities to come together to play basketball and engage with one another, creating a strong sense of identity and spirit.
“The principal of #ProjectSwish was to give people the resources and impetus to enjoy their local court more by putting nets on net less rims.
“We’ll carry on distributing nets so people can enjoy basketball. But as we approach the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games next summer, we want to support even more people to embrace their entrepreneurial spirit and use our activation guide to put theirs and their community’s stamp on their local court with their own renovation projects. Our view is that if you invest in a facility, it’s a tangible, visible thing that’ll be part of an area’s basketball culture for decades to come.”
“And of course, we’ll be aiming to break our free nets record once again.”
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Several court renovations have already taken place, five in 2020, including a renovation of the much-loved outdoor courts at Hendon Park, London and the Mandela Community Centre in Chapeltown, Leeds, and it was no different in 2021, with people getting creative to change the aesthetics of courts from Bradford to Portsmouth.
Basketball England also had a hand in supporting HoopsFix, who worked with Foot Locker Europe, the NBA and Lambeth Council to turn Clapham Common Court into one of the finest outdoor basketball courts in the UK.
As 3x3 makes its debut at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games and interest in the format piques, BE’s #GameTime campaign aims to capitalise on that rise in awareness of basketball across the nation and inspire over 1 million people to engage with, play and support the game.
#ProjectSwish is part of realising that aim – creating great basketball spaces in communities by enabling individuals, clubs and partners to discover, improve and create outdoor courts to boost playing opportunities.
“We have a wide range of information to help all members get the most from their affiliation with Basketball England. Community court activations, enabled through local engagement and support from us, will ultimately increase outdoor playing opportunities,” added Griffiths.
Download our Outdoor Technical Guidance.
Want to be involved in the next part of the project – head to projectswish.co.uk to discover how to upgrade your local court.
Download our Court Renovation Guide.
Basketball has the power to change lives. The #GameTime campaign will aim to raise awareness of the positive impact that our sport can have on people no matter who they are or where they are from.
Basketball England aims to engage one million people in basketball via the Commonwealth Games 2022, 3x3 and more.
Whether you want to:
...regardless of age, gender or background, across every part of the basketball family, it's #GameTime!
