The Tricity plays 3x3 basketball. Free training sessions in Sopot and Gdańsk.

Three-on-three, one basket, and ten minutes of play during which no one sits on the bench because the ball reaches every player – 3x3 basketball is the simplest version of the sport: fewer players and shorter games than in the classic five-a-side format mean the action is fast-paced and continuous, and the rules can be picked up after just a few minutes of watching. In Sopot and Gdańsk, on-court sessions will be led by Kacper “Kacpa” Lachowicz – a basketball coach and expert with the MultiSport Foundation, as well as one of Poland’s most recognisable basketball ambassadors who has spent over a decade travelling across the country to conduct workshops at schools and sports camps. Together with his team, he developed a programme that anyone can join at any time without registration and regardless of age or skill level.

The event agenda will include:

Participants can expect prizes and gifts awarded for results and the most spectacular attempts, as well as for participation itself.

Separate one-hour group training sessions with Kacper Lachowicz will also be organised. Three such time slots are available for booking each day, open to schools, sports clubs, families, groups of children and young people, and organisations working with people with disabilities. Applications are accepted via email at: biuro@fundacjamultisport.pl. Each time the training programme is tailored to the age, size, and capabilities of the participants. The entire zone remains accessible to people with disabilities as well.

The Tricity has been playing 3x3 basketball for years

3x3 basketball has a strong foundation in the Tricity. For six years, Gdynia has been organising one of the largest tournaments in this discipline in Poland. Teams from such countries as the USA, Lithuania, and France compete at Arka Square, often vying for a spot in the FIBA 3x3 World Tour – the sport’s most prestigious global tournament series. Qualifying rounds for the Polish Youth Championships are being held at Ergo Arena, drawing nearly a hundred teams from across the country. The region has its own clubs, athletes, and fans who have been following the sport for years.

However, there is a gap between the stands and the court that is worth narrowing. That is precisely why the 3x3ZONE will be set up in the Tricity, allowing people to play on the spot – without preparation or fees.

A sport that requires nothing more than a ball and a patch of asphalt

For decades, 3x3 basketball thrived on neighbourhood courts and in city squares before the International Basketball Federation gave it an official framework and the Tokyo 2020 Games saw its Olympic début. In Poland, this tradition dates to 1996, when Basketmania – one of the oldest street basketball tournaments in Europe – was established in Łódź.

– 3x3 basketball is a format that leaves a child no time for doubt. Everyone plays from the very first second, everyone makes decisions, and everyone has their moment on the court. I see it at every training session: children who arrive feeling unsure leave full of energy and ask when we're coming back. It’s not because they learned to shoot baskets, but because for the first time they felt that sport was for them – says Kacper Lachowicz, an expert at the MultiSport Foundation.

The physical activity children are missing

Appeals or data rarely persuade the youngest to take up sports; emotions and the proximity of a playing field are far more influential. However, the scale of the need is clearly illustrated by the Global Matrix 4.0 report, prepared by the Active Healthy Kids Global Alliance, which reveals that only 16.8% of Polish children and adolescents meet the World Health Organisation’s recommendations, namely, 60 minutes of physical activity daily. Basketball meets this requirement almost incidentally, as for a child it is play rather than a workout, while simultaneously engaging the entire body, building strength, coordination, endurance, and reflexes.

– Children’s activity begins in the places where they spend their time every day: in the garden, in the park, or on the neighbourhood sports field. 3x3 basketball fits naturally into this, as all you need to play is a hoop and a few people. We travel across Poland with 3x3ZONE precisely to create opportunities for children and young people to be active. The Tricity is unique in this respect, as street basketball here has its own history and audience, and outdoor courts are part of the urban landscape. Besides that, we show tourists that their leisure time can be active – says Justyna Rysiak, President of the MultiSport Foundation.

Admission to the 3x3ZONE village is free and open to everyone: children, youth, and adults.

Event details

Saturday, 5 September, 11:00–19:00, Kuracyjny Square, 2 Zdrojowy Square, Sopot

Sunday, 6 September, 11:00–19:00, Beach Basket Court, 2 Jantarowa Street, Summer Stadium (Moloteka, entrance no. 53), Gdańsk

More about the project: fundacjamultisport.pl/inicjatywa/3x3zone

Marcin Walendziak

Junior PR Specialist, Benefit Systems

• m.walendziak@benefitsystems.pl
• 880 170 402

^{The MultiSport Foundation is a non-profit organisation dedicated to promoting a healthy and active lifestyle across all social groups, with a particular focus on children, youth, seniors, and people with disabilities. The foundation runs educational and sports programmes such as “MultiSport Activities,” “Active MultiSport Schools,” “Full of Sport,” and “Seniors in Good Shape” that engage tens of thousands of participants annually throughout Poland while supporting preventive health care and social inclusion.}