Cardiff Youth Hubs Come Together for Half-Term Basketball Tournament
Basketball Wales, in partnership with Cardiff Met and Cardiff MAC Community, brought together youth groups from across Cardiff for a half-term basketball tournament held on 28 October.
The event formed part of ongoing work with local youth hubs in St Mellons, Llanrumney, Splot, North Ely, and Llanedeyrn, where basketball sessions are regularly offered to young people through Cardiff Met’s community outreach coaches. The aim was to allow these groups to experience organised basketball with referees, structure, and a friendly level of competition.
More than 60 young people aged 15–17 attended the event at Cardiff Met, representing their local hubs. Teams played in a round-robin format before moving into play-off matches, with third place and final games giving every team a chance to compete until the end.
Beyond the competition itself, the event also marked a milestone in referee development. Five new referees recently qualified through Basketball Wales officiating programmes were allowed to take charge of matches, supported by experienced officials Gav Lewis and Sam Gilbert. The day also highlighted the Red Whistle campaign, promoting respect and positive behaviour towards match officials.
“We’re proud to be part of such a great initiative that brings different communities together through the sport of basketball,” said Sam Gilbert, who helped coordinate the event together with Lilia Blood. “It gave young people a taste of organised basketball and showed them what opportunities exist within the sport.”
Lilia Blood, from Cardiff Met Community, said,” We collaborated with Basketball Wales to organise the second in a series of city-wide youth service basketball tournaments in Archers Arena on Cyncoed Campus. The event was terrific, with Sam Gilbert and Basketball Wales running the tournament and over 50 young people in attendance from all over the city. The tournaments have drummed up real excitement for basketball among youth in the service and created more opportunities to compete against other localities. We at Met Sport are thrilled with the collaboration and Basketball Wales’ commitment to communities in Cardiff and the Move More strategy. I can’t wait to see the next one!’
The event is built on last year’s pilot session, with three tournaments planned this year to continue supporting youth engagement and community basketball development across the city. Participants and families are encouraged to stay involved by visiting their local youth hubs to join future basketball sessions and help strengthen their teams for upcoming tournaments.
