Today, basketball players place as much emphasis and priority on their footwear and apparel as they do on their actual performance capabilities. The basketball court is now more than just a rectangular playing surface; it has become 94 feet of wood – or asphalt, for that matter – where players can make the perfect on-court statement through sneakers. In turn, young people all over the world not only aspire to play like the Kobe Bryants, LeBron James and Kevin Durants of the world, but they also want to mimic their on-court style, from the headbands they wear to the sneakers they lace up.
With the growing popularity of players showcasing their sneakers as well as their skills on court in mind, George Kiel, the Associate Editor of NiceKicks.com, is launching a new event to raise awareness for colon cancer and generate revenue for the furnishing of homes – something that his recently deceased mother, Debra Kiel, a colon cancer victim, was extremely passionate about – through the first annual Kick & Roll Classic 3-on-3 basketball event. We invite you to join us, compete in your best kicks and help make the occasion a huge philanthropic success!
Kick & Roll Classic, the first sneaker-focused basketball event of its kind, will take place on July 12, the second Saturday of the month, in Austin, Texas at a centrally located secret venue. The tournament will run from 10:30am to 8:30pm on Saturday, with a special warm-up event on Friday from 6pm to 8pm and a cool-down event on Saturday night, which will be exclusive to those 21 and over. The summer event will focus primarily on the exclusivity of what players wear on court. Kiel’s concept uses a high-profile, community-driven basketball tournament as a platform to raise revenue for the furnishing of homes. Debra Kiel, a Houston-based realtor during her days, found great passion and pleasure in not only helping people find homes but also interior decorating because that is something she thoroughly enjoyed. In commemoration of Debra Kiel, the annual Kick & Roll Classic summer event, in partnership with Habitat for Humanity, will benefit a selected, particular home to furnish with some of the proceeds generated. With our efforts to support this cause, this event is sure to be a weekend full of excitement!
George Kiel: I am proud to present an extension of my mother’s legacy through my love for basketball and sneakers on Mother’s Day 2014 by announcing the first annual Kick & Roll Classic 3-on-3 Basketball Event. My mom, Debra Kiel, passed away on March 15, 2014 due to colon cancer, and, in the midst of tragedy, I immediately began to think of triumph. I knew that I wanted to A) raise awareness for colon cancer, the third most common cancer diagnosed in both men and women in the United States (hence, the incorporation of the color blue, the Colon Cancer Alliance star in the logo and other setups that participants will see at the venue) and B) somehow expand on her passion of interior decoration, since she was extremely talented in that arena. So, how would this tie in to two of my passions, basketball and kicks? Well, that’s where the fun of this project began. Kick & Roll Classic is a first of its kind – a basketball tournament that primarily focuses on what participants wear on court, and secondarily focuses on basketball. It’s like a “Kicks On Court” basketball tournament, if you will, and a portion of the funds we generate from the event will go directly towards the furnishing of a home for a family that is jointly selected between myself and the good people over at Austin Habitat for Humanity.
Kick & Roll Classic 3-on-3 Basketball Event Details
The Tournament: As mentioned on the flyer, the first annual Kick & Roll Classic 3-on-3 Basketball event will take place in Austin, Texas. Two age groups (15-18 and 19 and up) will be our focus this time around, and a fourth person on each team is mandatory to act as a substitute ($200 per team, or $50 per person). Prizes, awards and giveaways from Foot Locker, Nike, ISlide, Nice Kicks and others will be handed out throughout the tournament and at the conclusion of the event. A few special NBA guests – who will act as judges of what players wear on court – also have something unique in store, stay tuned. Just know to bring some heat to the hardwood. There will also be a live DJ, a sneaker restoration setup, and various vendors on site at the tournament. Registration will begin on June 6th, my mother’s birthday, at kickroll.com.
The Charity: Kick & Roll’s charitable acts will go beyond the aspect of writing a check to the family we select. The Kick & Roll Classic team will offer up man hours in retrieving the list of the top 10 needs by the family, going to the selected furniture store to acquire the pieces and assisting the family in setting up in their respective, newly-constructed house provided by Habitat for Humanity. There are an abundance of families that don’t have the means to purchase furniture after moving into their new homes, therefore, we feel that our efforts will benefit the selected household greatly.
With your efforts to support this cause, the event is sure to be a weekend full of great competition and community building! Follow @KickRollClassic on Twitter/Instagram, and visit kickroll.com to sign up for updates. Also, check us out at facebook.com/kickrollclassic.
