Questions & Answers

FIBA & 3x3:

Why is FIBA embracing 3x3 Basketball?

In line with FIBA's vision to make basketball the most popular sports community in the world, FIBA is embracing 3x3 with the aim of further promoting, uniting and developing the game of basketball. FIBA believes 3x3 presents an excellent opportunity to attract new people to basketball.
Embracing an additional stand-alone discipline offers the opportunity to extend the reach of participating or hosting countries in international competitions.

What's FIBA vision for 3x3 Basketball?

To make 3x3 Basketball the number one urban sport in the world.

When does FIBA expect 3x3 to be part of the Olympic program?

FIBA is aiming for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio and envisages it will be an Olympic discipline by 2020 the latest.

Is the 3x3 being introduced in other internatinal competitions?

Yes. The discipline has been successfully introduced in the Youth Olympic Games, the next edition will be played in Nanjing in 2014. In addition, 3x3 will be played at Sport Accord's World Beach Games 2012, and at the FISU World Championships in 2012.

Tournaments:

What FIBA's integrated competition network?

Only sanctioned tournaments will be part of FIBA's integrated competition network, the pinnacle of which will be the World Tour.

What is a sanctioned tournament?

Any tournament can be sanctioned. The main requirement is to report the tournament results to FIBA in the provided formats. Results can be uploaded by using the FIBA 3x3 competition management tools or via the provided templates (CSV or XLS). More information on how to report and upload results are available on this link.

What tournament format can be sanctioned by FIBA ?

The classic format to be in place is round robins, followed by a knock-out phase leading to a final game. The final for the 3rd place is recommended however, whilst classification games (for losing teams) are up to the organizer. Additional formats such as ladders can also be sanctioned.

Can a Promoter use the FIBA 3x3 logo at their tournament?

The 3x3 logo is a key element of the FIBA 3x3 brand and implies that the corresponding tournament is part of the FIBA 3x3 integrated competition network. Thus a promoter or tournament can ONLY use the 3x3 logo for promotional or advertising purposes of an event if the corresponding competition results are reported to FIBA in a timely manner as described in www.fiba.com/3x3/resultsupload. Feel free to contact 3x3@fiba.com for further information.

What is the minimum number of teams per tournament?

The minimum number of teams is eight (4) and minimum games three (3) games per team have to be guaranteed. FIBA recommends having tournaments with a minimum size of eight (8).

Are there 3x3 scoresheets available?

The competition management tools feature Stadium Scoring, which is a way to replace the scoresheets. Otherwise 3x3 basketball scoreheets are available on this link.

What's the time slot to be allocated when playing full or basic rules?

Practice shows that 2 (two) times 5 (five) minutes can be played within a 20 minutes timeframe. Slots of maximum 30 minutes are then appropriate and allow for short on court presentations between games and warm up.

National Tours:

What is a national tour?

It is a series of minimum three (3) sanctioned tournaments linked together usually ending with a tour winner. There can be more than one national tour in a given country.

What kind of restrictions has national tours on players?

None. Teams from mixed nationalities can participated in national tours.


Competition Management Tools:

How can I have access to FIBA 3x3 competition management tools and the related training webinars?

The current competition management tools are available at www.fibaorganizer.com and you should contact 3x3@fiba.com in order to register for the free webinars. FIBA is developing 3x3 Planner, an improved competition management freeware, for its release in early 2012.
 

How many computers have to be used to run the FIBA 3x3 competition management tools?

One computer is enough to register players, team and set the competition up. Should the stadium scoring feature be used - one computer per court is needed.

I heard about webinars which consist of an online training for tournament organizers who are willing to use the competition management tools how can I take part in these?

Contact 3x3@fiba.com to enquire about the next one and you'll receive video and audio access codes to take part in the webinar. A complete training which will allow you to manage your competition on your own will be provided to you.
 

Digital Platform for players:

What is the digital platform?

The digital platform "3x3 Planet" is a community website that allows players to track their results of all their games including pick-up games and compare with friends & opponents. A personalized dashboard will include ranking and rating analysis providing players with a beyond-the-court experience. In addition, it will notify about upcoming tournaments geo-relevant for the player.

When will be 3x3 Planet ready?

The digital platform "3x3 Planet" will be launched in early 2012. In the meantime, a teaser website is online www.3x3planet.com.


About Rankings:

Which games count towards FIBA's individual ranking?

All reported pick-up games and reported sanctioned tournament games. Games played at non-sanctioned tournament will NOT count as played in a tournament, but as a pick-up games.

Do players from a same team get different points according to their personal stats?

No, players from a same team get the same total of points at the end of the tournament. Personal stats have no impact on the FIBA 3x3 ranking.

What are the basic principles of the FIBA 3x3 ranking?

The FIBA ranking system will have two indicators: Ranking & Rating
 

Ranking Points:

Points are awarded for both wins and losses. The number of awarded points will depend on the tournament's level and final position achieved. The 10 best tournaments results in the last 12 (twelve) months will be taken into account for ranking points purposes. Ranking points can also be collected in pick-up games, albeit the number of collectable points will be much lower than in tournaments.
 

Rating Class:

All players with at least five games will have a rating class. The rating class measures the average performance of a player's relative playing record, i.e. the win-loss ratio will take into account the rating class of the opponent. The rating class difference between players indicates the expected result of a game between them.

Equipment:

What is the official surface on which games should be played?

There is no "official" surface; a tournament can take place on concrete, existing or temporary courts. Information on approved surfaces such as the one used for the Youth Olympic Games 2010 can be obtained at FIBA, using 3x3@fiba.com

What is the size of a 3x3 court?

It is recommended to have a court that is 15 meters width and 11 to 14 meters long with 1,5 meters boundaries.

Where can equipment (backstops, hoops, outdoor shotclocks, scoreboards) be purchased/ordered?

The FIBA Study Centre has recently extended its activities to 3x3 equipment. Feel free to contact 3x3@fiba.com for any inquiries about equipment and your request will be forwarded and treated by the FIBA Study Centre.
 

Eligibility & Teams:

What are the age groups or categories?

There are currently no guidelines for age categories developed by FIBA foresees U18, U15 and U12 categories. It's up to the organizer to decide which categories to opt for, though FIBA highly recommends having the aforementioned age categories in addition to open.

What is the maximum number of players per team in a tournament?

Four (4) is the maximum number of players, three (3) on the court and one (1) substitute

How are the teams put together or selected?

A team is composed of a group of friends, teammates, coworkers, etc. For nationality-based competition (such as the Youth Olympic Games), the National Federation is responsible to select the team, though only players participating in national tours will be eligible. It's highly recommended that the players are selected through 3x3 Tournaments.

Are coaches foreseen in the teams?
No however, a team leader or manager can be appointed for youth or underaged high level competition (such Youth Olympic Games or Youth World Championships).
 

Other:

Is FIBA organizing events?

Yes. The 1st Invitational 3x3 Youth World Championship will be held in September 2011 (9th-11th) in Rimini in collaboration with the Italian Basketball Federation.

A World Tour and 3x3 Senior World Championships are foreseen in the short future. FIBA also closely follows the tournaments' from its growing organizers' network (national federations and organizers) who roll out tests this year.

Will awards be handed out to the best player at the end of each season?

Not foreseen yet, however FIBA definitely takes this point into consideration.