By Staff Reports
(Honolulu)– Hawaiian Airlines has been named the “Official Airline of the EA SPORTS Maui Invitational” basketball tournament and the benefit of its sponsorship begins this week with the hosting of free motivational programs and clinics for kids and coaches on Maui and O‘ahu.
Hawaiian is the title sponsor for nine youth-oriented programs and basketball clinics that start this Wednesday and continue until the start of the Championship Round of the EA SPORTS Maui Invitational held in Lahaina, November 19-21.
“We are thrilled to be involved with the EA SPORTS Maui Invitational and all the good it does for Maui’s economy, and especially excited about sponsoring programs that will help kids improve their basketball skills and reinforce the commitment needed to succeed in any endeavor,” said Peter Ingram, Hawaiian’s executive vice president and chief commercial officer.
Hawaiian’s sponsorship agreement runs through the 2014 tournament.
Motivate & Educate Programs
This Wednesday, October 17, the first of five “Motivate & Educate” inspirational presentations sponsored by Hawaiian will be conducted for students at Lahainaluna High School. There will be three more programs held on Maui at Maui High School and Baldwin High School on October 18, and King Kamehameha High School on October 19, and one on O‘ahu to middle school students in 6th to 8th grade at Chaminade University on October 22.
Coaches Clinics
Hawaiian is sponsoring two “Coaches Clinics” for basketball, the first on Maui at War Memorial Gymnasium on October 18, and the second on O‘ahu at Chaminade University on October 21.
- Coaches participating in the Motivate & Educate presentations or Coaches Clinics will include the following:
- Dave Odom, tournament chairman and former head coach of Wake Forest University where he coached two-time NBA MVP Tim Duncan;
- Bobby Cremins, former head coach of Georgia Tech University and a national Coach of the Year;
- Eric Bovaird, men’s basketball coach at Chaminade University;
- Bobby Keanini, women’s basketball coach at Chaminade.
Youth Clinics
Hawaiian is sponsoring two “Youth Clinics” on basketball for boys and girls in 3rd to 8th grade on O‘ahu at the Ewa Beach Boys & Girls Club on October 27, and on Maui at the Lahaina Boys & Girls Club on November 17. Kids from Läna‘i and Moloka‘i will also participate in the Maui clinic. Conducting the clinics will be the coaches and players of Chaminade’s men’s and women’s basketball teams.
Now in its 29th year, the EA SPORTS Maui Invitational is hosted by Chaminade University and considered one of the nation’s premier college tournaments to start the basketball season, as it regularly attracts highly regarded teams each year.