A little bit of a late Hello Everyone,
I’ve been home for a little over a month and quite a few different topics have come across my blogs by now. I have talked about a few very Dutch things, such as Eurovision and biking, and many weird American habits, wearing Crocs for example. I even interviewed a few teammates (more to come!). But this past week I got to experience many cultures at once, at one of my favorite events as well. I already mentioned it last week, I was volunteering at the 3x3 World Cup in Amsterdam.
3x3 has got to be my favorite sport of all time, especially when it’s played at the World Cup. Now most Americans are not familiar with this version of basketball but smaller countries, that don’t have enough good/great players to make a difference at the Olympics do have enough experienced 3x3 players to win a World Cup. Which is also why it is fun to watch, a win for the USA is not always guaranteed.
Official 3x3 basketball is very different from the usual 5x5 version. Most of the basic rules are the same, no traveling or double dribbles. But the shot clock is only 12 seconds and fouls aren’t called unless they’re very hard and obvious. It is fun to watch, I recommend watching sometime when you get the chance. Many FIBA livestreams can be found in weekends on YouTube.
About the rules, coaches are not allowed to coach games. They are allowed in the stands but not on the court or on the bench. They can get a technical foul for the team if they are too involved. But having a coach watch your game can be handy. Especially if you are a player from Slovenia and you are wearing the wrong color socks to the game. I had to go and get the coach from the stands and make him give his own socks, off of his feet, to his player.
Talking about watching, that is mostly what I got to do at my volunteering job. My main job was crowd management, telling people where to sit and where the restrooms are. Being with the crowd also means you are in the stadium all the time. I got to watch all the games live in the stadium! I was so glad I did not have to sell tickets or go to the drug tests with the players. Apparently, during drug tests at the international level you are not allowed to socialize with the players, that must be so boring plus you have to hold their pee cup. No thank you, I prefer telling people where the restroom is, not join them on the way there.
Sadly, Friday has come so my time volunteering is over. So are the Dutch national teams, they both got eliminated during pool play. Which means I get to go home again. Now going home to Tilburg means a 2 hour trip, very long for me because that is half of the Netherlands. But I have learned that Americans think that is close by, so some adjusting to do before going back in August.
Next week I start work at my old school so no interesting things to tell you about. Instead I will be doing 2 new player interviews. Let me know who you want to know more about!
Until next time,
Elena
