NEWS

The 6th Annual Kids Basketball Festival has taken place in Izmir. The event was organized by the TFF and Ülker, which is the leading supporter of sports in the country. The festival, which took place July 2 – 6, hosted teams from 35 provinces.  A total of 68 teams competed, 18 of which were girls’ teams.

During the festival there were no winners or losers.  Children from all over Turkey came with their families, to take part in the 5 days of activities. During the festival, besides playing basketball, the children had time to socialize and join in non-sports activities.  a film called “Nim’s Island “was shown at an outdoor cinema event and the children attended picnics, toured the Maritime Museum, and were informed about global warming at a presentation given by members of TEMA. The festival ended with a ceremony during which the 1,000 children who took part were presented with medals and certificates of participation.

Drawing attention to the contributions that Turkey’s top food organization, Ülker, has made to foster active, vigorous and healthy future generations through its support of sports and sport-oriented projects, Ülker Corporate Communications Director Zuhal Şeker stated:

“One of those projects is the Basketball  Festivals which we organize in cooperation with the Turkish Basketball Federation. These organizations are devoted to bringing a thousand children together every year, not only to play sports, but to learn about environmental issues, go to movies and have fun. This is because children who experience such activities today will be better informed, more caring adults in the future. At the same time, when children from all corners of the country get together, they learn how to share and how to establish friendships. Our purpose is to make playing active sports an indispensable part of their lives, with an eye to producing new and healthier generations. Our efforts in this regard will continue.”

Recalling that Ülker’s support of basketball goes back to 1975, Zuhal Şeker added, “Ülker is the largest supporter of sports in Turkey, not only from a financial perspective, but with its fund of knowledge, its corporate values and vast experience.”

Turkish Basketball Federation President Turgay Demirel stated, “The Ülker Kids Basketball Festival is a way to teach children the beauty of the game, sportsmanlike spirit, fellowship, friendship and fraternal feelings.”