TCI basketball team to compete in Puerto Rico

FOURTEEN basketball players from the Turks and Caicos Islands will travel to Puerto Rico to compete in an international basketball tournament from July 18 to the 22. This initiative was made possible through a collaborative effort between the TCI Rising Stars Basketball Club and InterHealth Canada, a key sponsor of the team. A media briefing was held on Wednesday, July 5, at the Downtown Ballpark in Providenciales to formally introduce the players. Nikira John, public relations and marketing manager for InterHealth Canada TCI, said that the donation reflects the company's commitment towards health promotion and encouraging youths, especially young men, to stay physically active and productively engaged. Secretary of the TCI Basketball Federation, Trevor Cooke, offered best wishes to the team as they embarked on their final two weeks of practice. President and vice-president of the Rising Stars Basketball Club, Marvin and Jarrett Forbes, intend to use the opportunity to promote their older athletes on an international scale with hopes of receiving a college scholarship. The TCI Rising Stars Basketball Club has managed to seize unique overseas opportunities for its basketball stars in the past. Dwaine Simmons, a young athlete from Grand Turk, most recently secured a college basketball scholarship with Dakota College in the United States. The club was established in the Turks and Caicos Islands in 2012 with a mission to empower today's youth and teach young basketball players to have respect for themselves, their peers, and their community by instilling a code of ethics built on honesty, responsibility and team work. Currently there are 90 athletes registered in Providenciales and 82 athletes registered in Grand Turk, ages eight to 18. The goal is to eventually expand to the islands of South Caicos, Middle Caicos and North Caicos.
Courtesy of: tcweeklynews.com