Group of friends from Regina’s neighborhood using basketball to bring people together – Regina | The Canadian News

What started as a fun side project for a group of friends, with the simple goal of playing basketball on as many courts around the world as possible, has now grown into a Regina non-profit organization.

Buckets and Borders was established by twin brothers Justin and Brendan Lee in 2015 as a project to document basketball culture around the world.

“The inspiration behind the concept is bringing people together through basketball,” Justin said.

That original approach manifested itself in the improvement of one of the local basketball courts in Regina, which had its grand opening on September 12.

“The organization’s goal now is to improve communities. The first community we’re doing that in is the one we grew up in and loved so much: the courts we grew up on playing what we call “The Cage,” he said.

The Cage is located in the Lakeview neighborhood of Regina, behind Sheldon Williams Collegiate High School.

The location required a lot of work and has come a long way thanks to a full team effort, including that of Ben Simaluk, a small construction business owner in Regina.

“We were able to do everything about the construction from top to bottom, starting with the new LED lighting to the new chain link fence. And then it was our team and community members who installed 300 gallons of exterior paint, ”said Simaluk.

In the years since its inception, the Buckets and Borders team has traveled the world to play basketball, including stopovers in Albania, Nepal, Peru and Argentina.

“We share experiences with people who speak different languages ​​or have different origins, but basketball is always the common language. There is a really iconic and amazing streetball scene in Paris, we have really had some great experiences in Eastern Europe and also in Nepal, ”said Justin.

The Paris court is also one of Simaluk’s favorites.

“Without a doubt, the most iconic court is the one in front of the Eiffel Tower,” said Simaluk.

According to the group, basketball is a universal language and brings people together.

“Regardless of age, race or religion, go out there and play hoops and hang out as a community because when we do, wonderful things like this project can happen, and that was our vision,” said Simaluk.

Buckets and Borders says they have many future plans in the works, so stay tuned for more.