Cooma Monaro Express 21/2/12
A one hour game of basketball is usually enough to leave most gasping for air but this March a group of students from Monaro High School will set out to play 32 hours of continuous basketball and break an Australian record.
Two teams of 12 players each will attempt to play 32 hours of basketball with a one minute rest between each game.
The teams will be made up of students in the Monaro High School Basketball squad that will be travelling to Lautoka, Fiji in the April school holidays for an international tour.
In 2008 a group of Monaro High School students in the New Zealand tour team set a new Australian record for the longest continuous game of basketball with 28 hours of continuous play.
The record has since been broken twice and is currently at 31.5 hours held by Hawkesbury District Basketball Association.
The match will tip off at 9am on Saturday March 3 and continue through the day and night until Sunday at 5pm. Anyone wishing to sponsor the challenge or support the group in their efforts are encouraged to contact Kari Ingram or Michelle Pollard on 0414423963 or 0414999235. Spectators are most welcome.
The squad have been busily preparing for the tour since being selected in September 2011. Upon returning back to school for the new year the group have moved training outdoors to help the players in getting used to the conditions expected on the tour. In addition to training the squad have entered a boys and a girls team into the local Monday night mixed basketball competition to assist with match practice leading up to the tour. They will be travelling to Batemans Bay and Moruya on Friday March 2 to contest the Eurobodalla Zone Championships.
