Working for weather: Start of the NRW 3x3 tour in Cologne threatens to tip over!

Working for weather: Start of the NRW 3x3 tour in Cologne threatens to tip over!

Mediapark, 50670 Köln, Deutschland - On June 12, 2025, the 31st edition of the NRW 3 × 3 tour of the street basketball players at the MediaPark in Cologne starts. The event, which is to take place from 11 a.m. to around 5 p.m., attracts numerous basketball enthusiasts with 161 registered teams. Nevertheless, there is concern about the weather because rain or thunderstorms could possibly make the ground unplayable. Georg Kleine from the West German Basketball Association (WBV) has already considered a logistical plan B to avoid the Rheinstars basketball campus in Bickendorf in the event of bad weather.

The tour will lead through 16 cities in North Rhine-Westphalia over three weeks. After 14 preliminary round tournaments, the final will be held on the Vest campus in Recklinghausen on July 6th. This tour has a long tradition; Since its foundation in 1994, over 40,000 teams with more than 160,000 children and adolescents have participated. The WBV describes the NRW 3 × 3 tour as the largest basketball popular sports event in Germany.

participation and conditions

Every team can consist of at least three players, and a membership affiliation is not required. School teams who take part in the tournaments during the week are often particularly active. The entry fee for the event is 20 euros per team, and each participant receives a tour t-shirt. Basketball fans who wear old tour shirts are welcome at the events.

The enthusiasm for basketball has increased in recent years, not least because of the success at the World Championships and Olympic Games. This has caused the clubs to be well attended and the number of participants increases steadily. The same applies to the next tournaments of the NRW 3 × 3 tour, which celebrates its 30th anniversary in 2024. The event is still the largest basketball popular sports event in Germany, and the game's 3 × 3 variant is enjoying growing popularity as an Olympic discipline.

Review and outlook

The NRW 3 × 3 Tour 2024 started on June 8, 2024 in Cologne and ended on June 30, 2024 with the final in Recklinghausen, which was excellently organized. A total of 133 teams took part in this tournament, and the use of a rain radar enabled the planning of the games outdoors in the event of varying weather. Also last season, 20 courts were used for indoor and outdoor games.

The event is organized by the West German Basketball Association and receives support from a sponsorship that also includes the State Chancellery NRW and AOKs. Registrations for the participants are located online at www.nrw-tour.de, and schools with five or more teams can hope for additional premiums, such as ten basket balls from Molten.