As part of the All-Star Game festivities, the VTB United League organized the first-ever eco-friendly phys ed class at St. Petersburg’s Gymnasium 24 on Vasilyevsky Island. The class was developed in partnership with the BASKETBOTTLE initiative, which seeks to educate children on environmental issues and increase their level of responsibility when disposing of waste products.
Gymnasium 24 students learned basic basketball skills, while also completing agility and aptitude tests, in addition to learning about how to recycle properly, how plastic is used in daily life and the importance of conserving resources.
Zenit center Ivan Lazarev and BASKETBOTTLE coaches were responsible for the basketball instruction in the master class.
The ECOBALL was also presented at the master class. This brand-new innovation from Wilson uses recycled plastic (the equivalent of two 1.5 liter plastic bottles) in the making of each basketball.
Special Representative of the President of the Russian Federation on Issues of Environmental Activities, Environment and Transport, Sergei Ivanov, was a special guest at the master class.
– The VTB United League is quite thorough in its environmental activity, – noted Ivanov. – After working with SIBUR to introduce plastic recycling at League arenas, we set a good example of how to use recycled plastic by creating the Ecoball. This eco-friendly phys ed class is a good opportunity to tell children about environmental responsibility. Basketball is a wonderful way to do it. When kids hear about important issues like recycling from their favorite players, it’s certain to stick with them and have an impact.
