SPOKANE, Wash. – For the first time in Hoopfest History: the country of Italy will be represented on the courts.
It’s all thanks to a partnership with the Gonzaga Kinesiology and Sport Management program and the professional team out of Tuscany: Pistoia Basket 2000.
Kinesiology and Sport Management Department Chair at Gonzaga Karen Rickel said it all started six years ago, when she and another professor went to teach sport management courses abroad. After getting connected and talking to the right people, Rickel said that’s when the opportunities blossomed.
Over the past couple of semesters, Gonzaga students have been able to travel abroad and work internships with Pistoia Basket 2000. Whether it was experience with ticket sales, social media or front office operations, sport management professor Ryan Turcott said getting experience on an international stage is what took his students to the next level.
“My students are sport management students,” said Turcott. “They need to learn about sports and they need to learn outside their bubble.”
After countless opportunities the Pistoia Basket organization provided Gonzaga students, it was time for Gonzaga to hold up their share of the deal. It was Pistoia Basket’s turn to immerse themselves in American culture… and what a better time to do so than Hoopfest weekend.
After months of communication through Zoom, staff with Gonzaga’s program and Pistoia Basket decided they would send 11 Italian boys and girls from their youth program to make up three teams for Hoopfest 2024.
Not only is it most of the players first time in America, but it’s also Italy’s first time being represented on Hoopfest courts.
When talking with some of the players, their excitement about being in Spokane was clear with one describing Hoopfest as “the Mecca of basketball”.
The players came in eager to learn different rules, play more physical than they are used to, and try a completely different style of play – all while juggling an unfamiliar country and language barrier.
Luckily, one thing these Italian teenagers and the City of Spokane have in common is the passion for basketball.
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