Minneapolis-St. Paul – The Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx Basketball Academy
announced it will host the True North Qualifiers, a series of five local
qualifying competitions across the Upper Midwest for a chance to reach the Jr.
NBA Global Championship, a youth basketball tournament for the top 13- and
14-year-old boys and girls teams from around the world. The True North
Qualifiers are open to 13- and 14-year old boys and girls teams and will be
played this spring in Des Moines, Fargo-Moorhead, Lakeville, Sioux Falls, and
St. Michael. The winning teams from each tournament will advance to the Jr. NBA
Global Championship Central Regional Tournament in Council Bluffs, Iowa in May,
which will see the winning teams receive all-expenses-paid trips to compete
against the top youth teams from around the world in the second Jr. NBA Global
Championship at ESPN Wide World of Sports near Orlando, Fla. in August.
The Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx Basketball Academy will host the True North
Qualifiers in Fargo-Moorhead (March 30-31), Des Moines (April 6-7), Sioux Falls
(April 13-14), St. Michael (April 27-28) and Lakeville (May 4-5).
“We are thrilled to give our fans and youth teams an opportunity to compete for
the chance to get one step closer to the Jr. NBA Global Championship. To bring
this tournament to not one, but five cities is a huge opportunity to showcase
the talent in the Upper Midwest,” said John Thomas, Vice President of Basketball
Development at the Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx. “These teams have immense
drive, determination and a love of the game that we want to cultivate, and
that’s a big part of our mission at our Basketball Academy.”
Breakdown Sports USA, a Twin Cities-based company servicing youth sports since
2001, will function as the True North Qualifiers tournament operator. “Youth
sports is the center of everything we do. To partner with the top basketball
organization in the Upper Midwest and one that has a strong commitment to
growing youth basketball brings tremendous opportunities for us,” said Justin
Hegna, Founder of Breakdown Sports USA. “With 2019 being the first year of the
True North Qualifiers we are excited to help build what we think will be a huge
piece of youth basketball.”
The Timberwolves and Lynx are the only team in the NBA and WNBA to host multiple
cities for qualifying tournaments. Tournament details and registration can be
found athttps://www.timberwolvesbasketballacademy.com/jrnba. Registration is
limited to 16 boys teams and 16 girls teams per tournament.
The Jr. NBA Global Championship in Orlando will feature boys and girls
divisions, separated into U.S. and international brackets that begin with
round-robin play and continue with single-elimination competition. In addition
to the on-court competition, all 32 teams (16 boys teams and 16 girls teams)
will participate in activities designed to provide the players with development
opportunities and memorable experiences off the court.
Media Content:
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ocal-qualifying-tournaments-jr-nba-global
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