Norwood Flames Classic tournament pulls more Kiwi players

The exotic cries of the Haka will echo around Adelaide basketball stadiums this Easter as two New Zealand groups compete in the states premier junior basketball carnival, the AND1 Norwood Easter Classic 2009.

For the first time, St Patrick College, Wellington, joins North Harbour Association in fielding teams in only international junior basketball carnival, which draws over 1200 players each year. The Haka is usually performed on court prior to finals, or in change rooms before fixtures.

Adelaide are delighted to welcome St Patricks College to our junior carnival, said Norwood Basketball Club president, Peter Roberts, noting that North Harbour first came to the Classic in 2007. We see it as a sign of the growing popularity of the event in New Zealand, and an acknowledgement that the Easter Classic is the premier junior basketball carnival in South Australia.

This year, 147 teams from 36 clubs from SA, Victoria and NZ will compete from 10-13 April in the Easter Classic, which has been run by NBC for more than 40 years and is entirely organised by volunteers. It is staged in four venues around metropolitan Adelaide.

Both North Harbour, NZs largest basketball association, and St Patricks College have sent four teams in the U14 - U18 age groups.