The Greek Orthodox Community of NSW is engaging with the community ahead of the Pavlos Giannakopoulos Tournament, running numerous initiatives aimed at capturing the interest of the youth for the historic event.
The tournament, which will feature the basketballs clubs of Panathinaikos, Partizan, Sydney Kings and Adelaide 36ers, is edging closer to its debut edition outside of Greece.
The two-day basketball spectacular will be held in Sydney on 21 and 22 September, with the organisers of the event (Panathinaikos and National Basketball Association) having engaged directly with the GOC NSW for the event.
Figures representing the organisers, including Panathinaikos BC President Vassilis Parthenopoulos, met with the leadership of the GOC NSW to discuss the event, and the Community has now announced various initiatives in relation to the tournament.
The initiatives are aimed specifically at engaging the youth with one being a poster competition for all students aged 7-15.
The competition encourages youngsters to create an artistic piece inspired by the tournament and submit digitally to the Community via email at education@goc.com.au.
Additionally, the GOC NSW has combined with the Greek student associations of Sydney’s universities that make up CUGA (USYD, UNSW, UTS, Macquarie) for a social media campaign to be run through the students’ group pages.
Both competitions will run until 5 September with a select few from each to receive tickets for the matches.
Nia Karteris, GOC NSW Secretary and Chair of the Greek Festival of Sydney, stated in their press release:
“The GOC of NSW is proud to be involved in this project, and we are hopeful that the community will respond in large numbers to support the initiative which runs well beyond the sporting boundaries and strengthens further our Hellenic attachments.”
The Community noted that it continues to work on ways to engage the wider public with the tournament, which represents the first-ever visit to Australia by Panathinaikos’ basketball team.
