The City of New Orleans will continue the eleventh season of NOLA FOR LIFE Midnight Basketball at 7 p.m. this Saturday, April 2. Its purpose is to provide safe recreational opportunities in crime hot spots for young men through mentorship, support and basketball. The event will feature remarks from Marcus Hall of SPAWAR and information on how coding may help further job opportunities.
Midnight Basketball will take place at the Rosenwald Recreation Center, located at 1120 S. Broad St., with registration beginning at 7 p.m. and the tournament tipping off at 8 p.m. The regular tournament play will continue every Saturday night through April 16, from 8 p.m. to midnight.
For more information, see the full press release below:
On Saturday, April 2, 2016, the City of New Orleans alongside the New Orleans Pelicans, Domino’s Pizza, Nike and PlayNola will continue the eleventh season of NOLA FOR LIFE Midnight Basketball, which provides safe recreational opportunities in crime hot spots for young men through mentorship, support and basketball.
The event will include remarks from SPAWAR’s Marcus Hall. SPAWAR, the U.S. Navy’s information warfare systems command that develops and delivers communications and information capabilities for the Navy’s warfighters, will partner with Operation Spark to provide information on how coding may allow for job opportunities within organizations like SPAWAR. Operation Spark is on a mission to bring youth new opportunity by presenting them with the fastest route to a career in software development—helping youth develop themselves, their skills and build the path to a strong career. SPAWAR will employ virtual gaming, robotics and drones to show attendees how coding creates these technologies. Operation Spark will offer opportunities to register for their coding class beginning April 18.
The newly opened Rosenwald Recreation Center (1120 S. Broad St.) in the B.W. Cooper neighborhood is hosting the season with registration beginning at 7 p.m. and the tournament tipping off at 8 p.m. Regular tournament play will continue every Saturday night through April 16, from 8 p.m. to midnight.
Season eleven’s theme, “Challenge Your Champion,” drives home the message that all players have an inner champion in various parts of their lives. Whether it’s through education, work or another outlet, each individual should continue to challenge themselves to discover their greatness. The team that wins the most 5-on-5 NCAA-type tournaments by the season’s end will receive a $1,000 grand prize. Each week, sponsors give away prizes to the winning team. This week, the winning team will choose from Domino’s Pizza gift cards, Midnight Basketball T-shirts or Nike T-shirts.
Local role model and radio personality DJ Wild Wayne plays an essential role in NOLA FOR LIFE efforts, by lending his media presence every week to share the benefits of participating in Midnight Basketball with his listeners.
NOLA FOR LIFE Midnight Basketball is a part of Mayor Landrieu’s comprehensive NOLA FOR LIFE strategy to reduce murders in New Orleans. Midnight Basketball aims to reach young men who are most likely at risk for being victims of or contributors to violent crime in the City. Since its inaugural season in 2012, Midnight Basketball has reached over 6,500 participants and 2,500 spectators.
