Interview to Ruben Rodriguez Lamas
How is over movement in the world growing up?
The movement has been improved and growing up since the foundation of FIMBA. From those 8 first countries involved in 1991, we got more than 80 and, from 34 teams in the first World Championship, we arrived to 128 in 2007. From 40 teams in the first European Championship we grew to 90+ teams in only 8 years. The world is awaking to the fact that sport in the second age is building the path for the third and the fourth age with strong stones. Today the sport continuity is known as the fundamental fact for the quality of life.
Which are top national teams, and in which countries do you think Fimba will grow up the most?
There are not top national teams in Maxibasketball. There are countries with a big background of players. As soon as those countries starts with a periodically organization, the big players appear and, time by time, they understand the new mature basketball philosophy and the fact that they can still play in a high level in their own age categories. When that happens, a special kind of interest moves other players, even those who have never been at the high level in the first age, to enter to the movement. You don´t need much publicity for this, just the enthusiasm of those who play and show how to go and enjoy practicing Maxibasketball.
There are a lot of countries growing very fast in different continents. In America, little countries with a small amount of population, with or without a basketball history, as Honduras or Ecuador, are growing very fast because they have people organizing the local movement. In the past, it happened in most of the South American countries and after 1996 became an explosion in Europe. Russia registers in every tournament over 20 teams, but Slovenia, for example, have a very strong home organization and, with only two millions of inhabitants, got more medals in Maxibasketball that countries with 185 million (Brazil) or 300 million (USA). I feel that Italy after the European Championship in Pesaro will begin a new pathway in Maxibasketball. Not only for the basketball history and the plans for the future, but because of the people who are wishing to develop the category.
What are Maxibasket World Federation strong points (major assets)?
In the last five years we reconstructed FIMBA. We began with surveys in the different championships and, after that, we rebuilt our entity. We created the FIMBA Representatives around the world, sort of Maxibasketball Ambassadors in their own countries, and we began to rebuild the local organizations; we created the Maxi Day, a festivity day for showing and giving example to the world that maxiplayers still know how to play and that they can play, with more than 100.000 players the same day playing games around the world and working to have 1.000.000 next September; we created the Technical Committee who prepared the regulations for qualifying own and impartial referees. We have today 23 FIMBA Referees from 11 countries and 56 aspirants waiting the opportunity to qualify; we produced a Guide Book with the knowhow of our tournaments, a necessary tool for the worldwide Organizers; we developed our website slowly to get today more than 6.000.000 of clicks monthly. A website with news, history, next events, medals, two special blogs, one for Maxibasketball and one for travel, and FimbaTV, the first on-line TV channel in the world and in the history of human beings, broadcasting live our events 24-7-365; we mixed travel, literature, photography, art and culture with sport. We made literature and photograph contests under the famous Eduardo Awards, and we published the winners of the short travel and sport stories, decided by an International and Prestigious Jury, in a wonderful book named The Ulysses’suitcases; we created the Eduardo Awards, to commemorate the visionary person who created Maxibasketball and we give this award every two years during the Social Party at the World Championships, in different categories. The last Gold Eduardo, the highest one, was given to Giuseppe Ponzoni, from Italy, for his dedication and example as a player. We organize different championships per year: four regional championships in Central America, Europe, and the Caribbean and in Pan-America, two World Champions Leagues for medal winners in FIMBA events for men and women in 40+; and the famous World Championship. We have organized several Travel Agencies helping maxiplayers around the world jointing a Travel Committee, appointing Preferred Agents in different countries called FPA, to assist players for travelling and accommodations, not only during our events but always, letting them to be sure they are in good hands; we publish each year our official magazine Overtime; we give for the participants more social activities with the creation of the Night Meeting Point; we will start our maxistore in our website where everybody can get any merchandising of past events and the FIMBA products. There are dozens of major assets in FIMBA, but the most important is that we really arrive to each country in the planet, far away as India or China and close as Colombia, Venezuela or Montenegro.
What kind of "spirit" should the athletes have in order to participate to Fimba competitions?
Just the willing to continue in sport. We give every player the opportunity to discover the movement, to enjoy basketball in the highest level in their age, and we let them to become the ambassadors for the rest. Everybody who has the luck to be in a FIMBA event, find out new places, new friends, a new life. The spirit is already inside each person; we teach how to found it out.
The movement has been improved and growing up since the foundation of FIMBA. From those 8 first countries involved in 1991, we got more than 80 and, from 34 teams in the first World Championship, we arrived to 128 in 2007. From 40 teams in the first European Championship we grew to 90+ teams in only 8 years. The world is awaking to the fact that sport in the second age is building the path for the third and the fourth age with strong stones. Today the sport continuity is known as the fundamental fact for the quality of life.
Which are top national teams, and in which countries do you think Fimba will grow up the most?
There are not top national teams in Maxibasketball. There are countries with a big background of players. As soon as those countries starts with a periodically organization, the big players appear and, time by time, they understand the new mature basketball philosophy and the fact that they can still play in a high level in their own age categories. When that happens, a special kind of interest moves other players, even those who have never been at the high level in the first age, to enter to the movement. You don´t need much publicity for this, just the enthusiasm of those who play and show how to go and enjoy practicing Maxibasketball.
There are a lot of countries growing very fast in different continents. In America, little countries with a small amount of population, with or without a basketball history, as Honduras or Ecuador, are growing very fast because they have people organizing the local movement. In the past, it happened in most of the South American countries and after 1996 became an explosion in Europe. Russia registers in every tournament over 20 teams, but Slovenia, for example, have a very strong home organization and, with only two millions of inhabitants, got more medals in Maxibasketball that countries with 185 million (Brazil) or 300 million (USA). I feel that Italy after the European Championship in Pesaro will begin a new pathway in Maxibasketball. Not only for the basketball history and the plans for the future, but because of the people who are wishing to develop the category.
What are Maxibasket World Federation strong points (major assets)?
In the last five years we reconstructed FIMBA. We began with surveys in the different championships and, after that, we rebuilt our entity. We created the FIMBA Representatives around the world, sort of Maxibasketball Ambassadors in their own countries, and we began to rebuild the local organizations; we created the Maxi Day, a festivity day for showing and giving example to the world that maxiplayers still know how to play and that they can play, with more than 100.000 players the same day playing games around the world and working to have 1.000.000 next September; we created the Technical Committee who prepared the regulations for qualifying own and impartial referees. We have today 23 FIMBA Referees from 11 countries and 56 aspirants waiting the opportunity to qualify; we produced a Guide Book with the knowhow of our tournaments, a necessary tool for the worldwide Organizers; we developed our website slowly to get today more than 6.000.000 of clicks monthly. A website with news, history, next events, medals, two special blogs, one for Maxibasketball and one for travel, and FimbaTV, the first on-line TV channel in the world and in the history of human beings, broadcasting live our events 24-7-365; we mixed travel, literature, photography, art and culture with sport. We made literature and photograph contests under the famous Eduardo Awards, and we published the winners of the short travel and sport stories, decided by an International and Prestigious Jury, in a wonderful book named The Ulysses’suitcases; we created the Eduardo Awards, to commemorate the visionary person who created Maxibasketball and we give this award every two years during the Social Party at the World Championships, in different categories. The last Gold Eduardo, the highest one, was given to Giuseppe Ponzoni, from Italy, for his dedication and example as a player. We organize different championships per year: four regional championships in Central America, Europe, and the Caribbean and in Pan-America, two World Champions Leagues for medal winners in FIMBA events for men and women in 40+; and the famous World Championship. We have organized several Travel Agencies helping maxiplayers around the world jointing a Travel Committee, appointing Preferred Agents in different countries called FPA, to assist players for travelling and accommodations, not only during our events but always, letting them to be sure they are in good hands; we publish each year our official magazine Overtime; we give for the participants more social activities with the creation of the Night Meeting Point; we will start our maxistore in our website where everybody can get any merchandising of past events and the FIMBA products. There are dozens of major assets in FIMBA, but the most important is that we really arrive to each country in the planet, far away as India or China and close as Colombia, Venezuela or Montenegro.
What kind of "spirit" should the athletes have in order to participate to Fimba competitions?
Just the willing to continue in sport. We give every player the opportunity to discover the movement, to enjoy basketball in the highest level in their age, and we let them to become the ambassadors for the rest. Everybody who has the luck to be in a FIMBA event, find out new places, new friends, a new life. The spirit is already inside each person; we teach how to found it out.
