All the many talented basketball players participating in next year’s ISF WSC Basketball 3×3 in Tallinn, Estonia, should already now begin to look for a backpack big enough that will be able to hold all the memories they will bring back home from this upcoming championship.
To give participants the opportunity to explore some of all the many treasures of Tallinn, the organisers, from the Estonian School Sport Union, have put together a programme giving the chance to do so both inside and outside the courts of competition. For instance, the courts in which the competitions will be held are situated at the Freedom Square in Tallinn Medieval Old Town, which is one of the best-preserved Hanseatic town centres in the world.
All participants will be accommodated in Pirita Top Spa Hotel located by the beautiful seaside at the mouth of Pirita River and not too far from the heart of the city where the competitions will take place. Originally, the hotel was built for the yachting regattas for the Moscow Olympic Games in 1980. However, since then it has accommodated thousands of visitors, and in June next year it will house basketball players from all over the world. If participants wish to take a rest after a tough day of competition, the hotel offers a large indoor pool, sauna, and steam bath that are all free of use for guests, and for the ones still having leftover energy to burn, the hotel also provides sports facilities.
Previous this year, ISF Delegate, Bülent Bektaşer, and President of the Technical Commission for Basketball, Julia Boyanova, made a preliminary visit to the city to see for themselves the setup that the Estonian organisers have prepared for the upcoming championship. Luckily, the visit was planned so well that it coincided with the FIBA 3×3 Euro Tour, which provided Mr Bektaşer and Ms Boyanova the great opportunity to get a glimpse of the ambience that also will pervade the city during next year’s ISF WSC Basketball 3×3. Besides visiting some of the central sights for the championship, the two ISF representatives also attended several insightful meetings with, among others, Mr Lauri Luik, President of the Estonian School Sport Union, Mr Tõnu Seil, Head of Sports Department, Ministry of Culture, and Mr Henri Ausmaa, Director of the Organising Committee.
Check out some of the surroundings for the upcoming championship in this recap from FIBA’s 3×3 Euro Tour in Tallinn.