TORONTO, ON (April 21, 2020) - Canada Basketball announced today the appointment of Paul Sir to the position of Managing Director, 3x3 Basketball Development.
"Adding Paul to our organization to lead the development and execution of 3x3 basketball programming across the country is an important step as 3x3 basketball, as a new Olympic and professional sport, continues to experience tremendous growth," said Glen Grunwald, President and CEO of Canada Basketball. “Now is a critical time for Canada Basketball to harness and build on this positive momentum to position Canada to be successful in 3x3, both at home and on the international stage, in the future.”
Sir will also continue in his role as Executive Director of the Alberta Basketball Association (ABA), a position he has held since April 2008.
“I have had a passion for 3x3 since its introduction by FIBA,” said Sir. “I am looking forward to the opportunity and challenge to develop a national strategy with Canada Basketball.”
Reporting to the President & CEO, Sir will be primarily responsible for developing a Canada Basketball 3x3 Events Sanctioning Program, which will establish best practices and guidelines for hosts and organizers across the country.
In addition, Sir will work alongside PTSOs, promoters and local organizers interested in hosting various levels of 3x3 programming, from community tournaments to Canada Basketball’s 3x3 Canada Quest to FIBA sanctioned events, including the FIBA 3x3 World Tour Masters, Challengers, as well as the FIBA 3x3 Women's Series, the first-ever FIBA 3x3 competition dedicated to women.
Sir will also be responsible for further developing the organization’s partnership with Red Bull as the Energy and Event Partner of Canada Basketball 3x3. This partnership, which was launched last year, provides increased support for growing men’s and women’s 3x3 activities in Canada.
In an attempt to further grow the sport of 3x3 at a grassroots level, Sir will also develop a school 3x3 program which will be offered to schools across Canada.
Sir and Alberta Basketball have been leaders within the 3x3 community in Canada for the past 10 years, regularly hosting events, including the Edmonton Challenger 2019 and FIBA 3x3 Women's Series Edmonton Final Stop 2019 at the West Edmonton Mall.
A resident of Edmonton, Sir has been actively involved in the basketball community in Alberta for over 25 years and is the creator and host of 'The Basketball Show' on TSN 1260 in Edmonton, Western Canada’s only basketball show.
Following his playing career at Winona State University and BBC Lateur in Belgium, Sir transitioned into coaching and spent several seasons behind the bench with the Edmonton Chill and Energy and Concordia University College of Alberta.
Effective immediately, he will be available at psir@basketball.ca.