This weekend sees the 6th annual Kilkenny Masters (Over 40s and 50s Ladies & Men’s) Basketball Tournament in three city venues.
The 36 teams will travel from Cork, Kerry, Clare, Mayo, Dublin, Offaly, Carlow, Cavan, Limerick, Laois, Wexford, Waterford and Kilkenny will also be I action.
The teams from England are from Yorkshire, Bristol, Hull and Birmingham.
There will be over 400 players in the battle for honours and the equally important social night out is in Paris Texas on the Saturday evening.
It all goes to goes the importance of well-being and health and fitness for adults who wish to continue playing sport into their ‘forties and ‘fifties.
The action gets under way in O’Loughlin Gaels this Friday (March 1) from 7.20pm, with the Kilkenny ladies 40s team of Marble City Mayfairs taking on Cork Cougars for the Seamus Walsh Cup.
And straight after are the Kilkenny men’s 40s team up against WEBBA from the UK, with new recruits James Butler and David Keane added to the local line-up.
The Lar Murphy Memorial Cup is at stake for the eventual winners in this category.
There will also be underage boys and girls Kilkenny Star teams playing beforehand.
The bulk of the games are on Saturday, spread across O’Loughlin Gaels, Loreto and St Kieran’s College halls from 9am to 5pm.
The finals then take place in the same venues on Sunday
You can check out their website and Facebook page for more details, www.kilkennymasters.ie
Entry is free and all are encouraged to go along and enjoy the action.
In addition, there will be a Wheelchair Exhibition game between the players of the South East Swifts basketball team in St Kieran’s hall at 12.50pm on Sunday.
Swifts were narrowly beaten in the IWA National Cup Final played in the National Basketball Arena, Dublin. Have a look at how Pat O’Neill and his team manage to weave their way round a court on wheels.
Marble City Hawks Ladies National League team will provide a catering service at each venue to help fundraise for the club.
Sponsors are Paris Texas Bar, Pembroke Hotel, Clune Tech, Langtons Hotel, House Of Stoves, Sport Ireland (Age & Opportunity), Basketball Ireland, St Canice’s Credit Union, Pat Carroll’s Bar, Hennessy Sports, TJ Reid Health & Fitness, Infocus Opticians, DJSolutions.ie, moonbehindthehill.ie and drawinginc.ie
