TOKYO (Japan) – There will be an equal number of men and women’s athletes, referees, sports supervisors, MC’s and DJ’s as 3×3 makes its Olympic debut in Tokyo, Japan on July 24-28.
“The promotion of women in basketball is one of the three strategic priorities of FIBA for the 2019-2023 cycle,” FIBA Secretary General Andreas Zagklis said.
“We wanted to use the Olympic stage to send a strong and positive message for parity, which is paramount in basketball, especially in 3×3.”
Eight men’s teams and eight women’s teams (meaning 32 athletes in each gender) will compete in Tokyo. They will play on the same court with the same ball, at the same venue, alternating between men and women’s games on the same days. This concept is rooted in 3×3: it applies to every single national FIBA3x3 competition, including the yearly FIBA 3×3 World Cup.
There will be twelve referees officiating in Tokyo (six men, six women). They will be assigned games in each gender. It is very common for female referees to officiate men’s games in 3×3. The youngest 3×3 referee in Tokyo (at 31 years old) Cecilia Toth from Hungary was one of the two referees in charge of the men’s final of the last 3×3 Europe Cup in 2019.
The gender-equity concept will extend (beyond athletes and referees) to the two sports supervisors, two DJ’s and four MC’s.
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Exciting, urban and innovative, 3×3 is inspired by several forms of streetball played worldwide and is considered the world’s number one urban team sport. Steered by FIBA, games see two teams of three players face off on a basketball half-court.
It was played successfully for the first time in international competition at the 2010 Youth Olympic Games in Singapore and since then has benefited from the launch of a yearly city-based FIBA 3×3 World Tour and national-team FIBA 3×3 World & Continental Cups.
On 9 June 2017, 3×3 was added to the Olympic Program, starting from the Tokyo Games.
Wilson is the Global Ball and Apparel Partner and Tissot the Official Timekeeper of FIBA 3×3.
FIBA 3×3 events are played on Enlio floors with Wilson balls, Schelde backstops, and the Magic Sky canopy system.
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