Game Changers en_US

More Than A Game: London

NikeGamechangers — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 18:45:22 GMT

Over the summer LeBron James went on a worldwide tour to promote his movie, More Than A Game, and the bigger message that for those who play, basketball is more than a game. It’s an identity, a means of personal expression. It’s a  way of life. And when we recognize the value of the game beyond the confines of the court, we do more than improve our game; we improve our world.

In London, Sport Action Zone, in partnership with Nike and the NBA, will provide a new basketball legacy program offering facilities, training, coaching and opportunities for young people across the capital.

Play your part in this hugely exciting project: Play, Volunteer, Donate.

More Than A Game

NikeGamechangers — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 15:26:21 GMT

LeBron James is on the move, touring the globe with his new documentary, More Than A Game. The movie follows LeBron and his teammates, the "Fab Five," from a rundown inner-city gym to the national high school championship with St Vincent- St Mary's. And as the title indicates, it's about more than basketball; it's about the friends, the challenges and the opportunities that took them out of Akron and onto the world stage alongside James.

And just as the movie is about more than basketball, the tour is about more than the movie. At every stop on the tour Nike Basketball is helping to bring the game of basketball to communities. In DC Nike Basketball helped refurbish the Barry Farms main court at Rucker Park, where the area's top talent can often be seen, showing off their skills.

At the press conference, DC's Mayor Fenty announced that the city would match Nike Basketball's investment and refurbish the entire park. A good day for DC. A good day for basketball.

Follow LeBron's every move on Nike Basketball

And find ways to be a Gamechanger in your community at: http://volunteer.Up2Us.org/

Photo Credit: Vikrum Aiyer for the Executive Office of the Mayor

Beijing Breakthrough Games Bball Finals

akqa-admin-gc — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 00:18:10 GMT

Last fall, over 50,000 players participated in the first basketball league for migrant youth in seven major Chinese cities. Training and trials were conducted at 180 schools, with the help of 240 volunteers from nearby universities. This basketball league is part of the Migrant Kids Sports Program, a partnership of China Children and Teens' Fund, Save the Children and Nike. This program aims to help migrant kids beat the odds and breakthrough discrimination and poverty. To date the program has reached over 600 schools and 235,000 youth who have migrated from rural areas to major cities with their parents.

Check out the highlight reel from the finals in Beijing and see what the kids and the volunteers have to say.

2008年秋冬，来自中国7个城市的5万多名青少年篮球运动员参加了第一届流动青少年篮球联赛。180所打工子弟学校参加了赛前训练和常规赛阶段的比赛，240名当地大学生志愿者的参与保证了比赛的顺利进行。这次篮球联赛是‘流动青少年体育公益项目’的一项内容；该项目是中国儿童少年基金会、救助儿童会和耐克中国有限公司联手建立和开展的，目的是推动流动青少年通过运动学习必要的生活技能，以克服困难，打破歧视和贫困。截至目前，该项目已经进入到600多所打工子弟集中的学校，帮助了23.5万名随父母从农村迁徙到城市生活和学习的流动青少年。
欢迎你看看这个短片 – 你不仅能够看到北京决赛的精彩镜头，又能够听到参加比赛的小运动员和大学生志愿者的感言。

New Basketball Court in Detroit

NikeGamechangers — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 22:25:46 GMT

If you've opened the sports page, stood by a water cooler or turned on a TV in the past few days, you know that the Final Four weekend and March Madness will come to a close tonight with either North Caroline or Michigan State cutting down the nets while confetti and champagne rain down.

But no matter how many sports pages you've opened, water coolers you've stood by or TVs you've turned on, you probably don't know that the weekend was kicked off in equal style with players from the Franklin Wright Community Center in Detroit hanging nets for their new home court.

In celebration of the Final Four weekend, Nike installed a new indoor basketball court at the Franklin Wright Community Center with WNBA legend, Cynthia Copper, on hand for the dedication last Thursday. To ensure that the court (made from recycled shoes via Nike's Reuse-A-Shoe) was built to withstand a pounding, Nike started things off strong with a tournament between local teams. The Franklin Wright team did their new court proud, coming away as champions.

Who knows, maybe in a couple of years some of these players will be cutting down the nets as NCAA champions...