'One Team' prepares for new season with annual workshop in Belgrade
Euroleague Basketball ran their seventh annual One Team workshop last week in Belgrade, the host city for the upcoming season's Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four.
The two-day workshop helped clubs across the continent prepare to implement their social responsibility programs over the coming campaign. It was the first time that all of the participating teams in both the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague and the 7DAYS EuroCup ran their own One Team initiatives.
This workshop was the first in a series of several events which will take place in Belgrade over the next few months, and one of the highlights was the celebration of the inaugural Best One Team Programme Award Shortlist, and the subsequent announcement of the Winner.
Five clubs were shortlisted for the Award, recognising the impact they have made in their communities and their commitment to going "above and beyond" with their One Team programmes. The shortlisted clubs were Anadolu Efes Istanbul, FC Barcelona Lassa, Real Madrid, Valencia Basket and Zalgiris Kaunas, with Zalgiris Kaunas being named the Winner in recognition of their One Team programme that focuses on using basketball to develop ambition and set goals for young boys being detained in Lithuania's only juvenile prison.
Jordi Bertomeu, Euroleague Basketball President and CEO, underlined the central role that One Team plays in the competition's strategy.
"Basketball is bigger than just the action that takes place on the court, and we have seen over the last five years how our clubs and players can make a significant impact in their communities," Mr. Bertomeu said. "That work will continue throughout next season, and we are particularly determined to give the people of Belgrade a Final Four to remember with the help of One Team."
The workshop included sessions led by club-based One Team coaches Artemis Panagi from Panathinaikos Superfoods Athens and Ozan Havuzulu from Anadolu Efes Istanbul, who outlined practical examples of how basketball can be used to teach life lessons.
Other clubs playing an active role in the execution of the workshop's schedule were ALBA Berlin, Cedevita Zagreb, CSKA Moscow, Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv, Olympiacos Piraeus and Valencia Basket.
There was also a varied roster of specially invited speakers, contributors and facilitators, including Daniel Linekar and Alex Bassan from The Change Foundation, Temidayo Okewale and Dzaflo Larkai from Who's Got Game, and Radha Balani and Rowena Luscombe from thinkBeyond and Beyond Sport.
The workshop received valuable contributions from Belgrade's own EuroLeague club, Crvena Zvezda; local sponsors IDEA and Crowne Plaza; One Team's proud partner, Special Olympics; and the project's founding patron since 2012, Turkish Airlines.
Another important message was support for the #BeActive campaign of the European Week of Sport, which promotes participation in sport and physical activity across Europe.
Abigail Martin, Head of Euroleague Basketball's CSR & Development Projects, believes these workshops are the best way to prepare for the new season.
"One Team will be bigger and better in the next few months, with the 40 clubs from the EuroLeague and EuroCup all running local programs for the very first times," Ms. Martin said. "One Team has already achieved so much and has even bigger ambitions for the future, and this week in Belgrade was a vital chance to get everyone together and share ideas about exactly where One Team is heading."
Here is the event video: