When I heard in 1979 that basketball international tournaments for people older than 35 were starting to be held, I couldn’t help thinking… This is great! I am 35 years old and I can keep on competing.
I could have never thought that that would be the beginning of a wonderful experience, celebrating its 28th anniversary this year, which has grown and enriched with new ‘input’ day after day.
Uruguay, my country, was one of the first in diving body and soul in this maxibasketball quest. This was the chance for those who wanted to keep practicing basketball and did not know how, and felt that this sport was almost a basic need within their lives. Maxi was the hub, the possibility of keeping in touch and making youth days’ friendship grow stronger.
Maxibasketball turned to be a life choice after years of demanding competition for ex professional basketball players.
However, the most wonderful and remarkable feature of maxi is that it does not limit to an ‘elite’ of players. All those older than 35 found a place, which meant and reached horizons that went much farther than just basketball talents.
It did not only helped us to come back to the basketball court, but also, in many cases, was key to strengthen our social life by sharing trips, triumphs or just a toast, and bring back memories of wonderful moments lived in past times.
I have treasured letters from old teammates, who were sent to me after coming back from a trip or just when a tournament was over, thanking for the invitation to participate and telling how happy they were for having joined the maxi family. These friends range from younger that 40 years old to others more mature living their late sixties.
Those letters talk about coming back to life after a long parenthesis.
When we tell young players who have been competing in national championships for 20 years, as they are about to enter the maxi family, that they have not even reached half of their competition life, they all seem to realize they are waking up to a new world.
Nowadays we have made the dream of including 75 year olds in our World Championships come true, and are about to raise the bar by having a 75+ category playing in our next championship in exhibition fashion. Who would have thought we were going to come this far when we started back in 1979!!!
When I am asked what the future of maxi will be, I think back and a revelation comes to me, we are bound by no limits.
Maxi is an option. It’s a sport that allows us to lead a healthier life. It’s a place where we will always find a friend. It’s is the possibility of social integration when loneliness and aging start to take over.
To put it in a nutshell….maxibasketball is LIFE.
Nelson Silva Chiacchio
President Fimba-América
I could have never thought that that would be the beginning of a wonderful experience, celebrating its 28th anniversary this year, which has grown and enriched with new ‘input’ day after day.
Uruguay, my country, was one of the first in diving body and soul in this maxibasketball quest. This was the chance for those who wanted to keep practicing basketball and did not know how, and felt that this sport was almost a basic need within their lives. Maxi was the hub, the possibility of keeping in touch and making youth days’ friendship grow stronger.
Maxibasketball turned to be a life choice after years of demanding competition for ex professional basketball players.
However, the most wonderful and remarkable feature of maxi is that it does not limit to an ‘elite’ of players. All those older than 35 found a place, which meant and reached horizons that went much farther than just basketball talents.
It did not only helped us to come back to the basketball court, but also, in many cases, was key to strengthen our social life by sharing trips, triumphs or just a toast, and bring back memories of wonderful moments lived in past times.
I have treasured letters from old teammates, who were sent to me after coming back from a trip or just when a tournament was over, thanking for the invitation to participate and telling how happy they were for having joined the maxi family. These friends range from younger that 40 years old to others more mature living their late sixties.
Those letters talk about coming back to life after a long parenthesis.
When we tell young players who have been competing in national championships for 20 years, as they are about to enter the maxi family, that they have not even reached half of their competition life, they all seem to realize they are waking up to a new world.
Nowadays we have made the dream of including 75 year olds in our World Championships come true, and are about to raise the bar by having a 75+ category playing in our next championship in exhibition fashion. Who would have thought we were going to come this far when we started back in 1979!!!
When I am asked what the future of maxi will be, I think back and a revelation comes to me, we are bound by no limits.
Maxi is an option. It’s a sport that allows us to lead a healthier life. It’s a place where we will always find a friend. It’s is the possibility of social integration when loneliness and aging start to take over.
To put it in a nutshell….maxibasketball is LIFE.
Nelson Silva Chiacchio
President Fimba-América
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