Ultra-cheap basketball sessions are being offered to children and young people from south London, as part of a collaboration between the Greater London Authority and the NBA, writes Maya Sgaravato-Grant…
The fully-coached sessions have been held in Woolwich Waves leisure centre in Greenwich, alongside other select leisure centres across five other London boroughs, since 2nd February.
They are open to 5-15 year olds of all abilities for just £1 per session.
Richard Gallagher, Partnership Manager for Better in Greenwich, which runs Woolwich Waves, said he was ‘excited’ to see how the programme unfolds.
He said: “In Greenwich, we’re committed to supporting young people to access affordable sporting activities. That’s why we’re so pleased to be working with the Mayor of London and the NBA to offer this opportunity.”
The roll-out of this programme constitutes the first stage of the ‘NBA Court Time’ scheme, which seeks to help Londoners keep active at little cost, and is set to run until April.
The sessions are being held in collaboration with the London Coaches Program, which was launched in 2023, with adult, community group, and women-only sessions to also be on offer from March.
This comes as City Hall is investing £2 million to improve basketball facilities across the capital.
London is currently home to 500,000 active basketball players, with the team sport having become the second most popular among young people in the UK after football.
For more information go to Woolwich Waves