Community event in Hoofddorp: a source of inspiration for other cities
What started as an enthusiastic idea grew into an unprecedented success. No fewer than 165 young people took part in the 3X3 Unites community event in Hoofddorp at the beginning of January. That was far more than coordinator Sarah Hoedeman had ever dared to dream of. She hopes the successful event will serve as an inspiration for other cities.
“This shows the kind of impact we can make with 3X3 Unites. If we can bring together so many young people in Hoofddorp, then it should also be possible in other cities”, says Sarah. “I enjoyed it immensely. It felt like a day where friends, acquaintances and familiar faces who all share the same passion came together.”
In addition to a 3x3 basketball tournament, there were several side events. There was a dunk contest, a three-point contest, and photographer Maarten Groot took team photos. “We wanted there to be things to do during the moments when the young people weren’t playing”, says Sarah, who received help in the run-up to the event and on the day itself from at least nine 3X3 Leaders from Hoofddorp.
Sarah had divided the tasks: from creating the schedule to arranging the catering, and from supervising the games and side events to filling in the scores and keeping track of the time. “I thought it was great to see how the 3X3 Leaders took responsibility and got to work”, says Sarah.
In addition to the 165 participants, there was also a large audience present in the sports hall. “There were more than 200 people in total. That’s amazing, right?” says Sarah. “When I look back at the photos, I’m surprised by how busy it was. I really hope this community event has opened new doors and that other cities will also be inspired by it.”
Sarah herself was inspired by another event, in Haarlem to be precise. There, 3X3 Leader Nordin Martina organized the autumn tournament last year. Sarah says: “I heard that Nordin had organized a really cool event in Haarlem with more than 60 participants. I thought that was awesome and wanted to try to beat that number.”
So Sarah contacted the 3X3 Leaders in Hoofddorp and asked them to think along. What would be a good date? How should the event be styled? Which categories should they create? How could they best reach as many young people as possible? And how could they make it attractive for girls as well?
Thereby she received a lot of support from Thijs Michielsen, educator at 3X3 Unites. “He was there for us when we had questions and made sure we stayed within the budget. He also checked whether everything was going well. That was very nice.”
Sarah posted a message on Instagram and reached out to her network. At first, however, registrations were slow, which made her start to doubt. “I discussed it with the 3X3 Leaders and we decided to message as many people as possible. Basketball players, everyone who had ever played basketball, and clubs in the area”, she says. “In the end, we received so many registrations that we had to close registration, because otherwise it wouldn’t fit into the schedule.”
To Sarah’s great joy, they even managed to attract several girls’ teams and a mixed team. “They did amazingly well and beat teams I might not have expected them to beat. We had arranged a separate prize for the winning girls’ team.”
On the day itself, Sarah enjoyed most of all the fun that radiated from the participants. “Everyone was cheerful, the games were played very competitively, and the atmosphere was great. Friendly and relaxed. Some young people already knew each other and others made new connections. That is exactly what we want: to give young people a good time and connect them with each other through basketball.”
Sarah herself describes the event as a “big success”, although, according to her, there are always things that can be improved. Next time, she would schedule a bit more time between games and also print the game schedule on paper. This time, the schedule was only available digitally, but the internet didn’t always work well in the sports hall. She would also like to discuss the event with all the 3X3 Leaders beforehand next time, have breakfast together, and end the day together as well.
When asked what she learned from organizing the 3X3 Unites community event in Hoofddorp, she says: “You shouldn’t be afraid and you have to dare to go for it, even when things don’t go smoothly for a while. I now know: if you really want something and work hard for it, the chance of success is much greater.”
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