Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology has signed on to become a major sponsor of Tauranga City Basketball this year, posting up $5000 to support the organisation to become number on basketball association in New Zealand.

Head of Marketing and Communications Jess Barnett says Toi Ohomai is keen to support Bay of Plenty's young sporting talent to help them achieve their goals, and sponsoring Tauranga City Basketball is part of this strategy.

'Basketball is one of the fastest growing participant sports in New Zealand and it can be played by anyone regardless of age or gender. Basketball is the sleeping giant of New Zealand sport.

'With more than 4500 active members, 22 representative teams and hosting the 2019 Easter Tournament that brought 135 teams to Tauranga, we commend Tauranga City Basketball for its role in helping a large part of the community excel in their chosen sport.”

The association will run secondary school leagues, with Toi Ohomai as the naming sponsor, over 24 weeks from May to December, spanning terms two, three and four.

The leagues will be played at Trustpower Arena at Baypark and the QEYC in Tauranga, as well as the Memorial Hall in Whakatane for up to three nights per week.

General manager Mark Rogers says the leagues make up the largest school basketball competition in the Bay of Plenty with 200 teams each year, and they have started to attract teams from the wider region.

'We have on average, 2500 spectators watching these games each week during winter and 500 during summer.”

He says the association is now recognised as a well-managed, effectively administered, sporting organisation that has been endorsed by other organisations including the national body, Basketball New Zealand, and Sport Bay of Plenty.

'With our player base and development programmes we aim to be the number one basketball association in New Zealand and this will be manifested through the success of our age group and senior representative squads.

'Central to this is ensuring that there is a clear progressive path for our talented younger players allowing them to graduate to the high-level exposure and intense competition of the National Leagues and beyond that to National Honours.”