A NEW basketball academy has been officially launched at a Warrington college.
Warrington Collegiate, which runs football and Rugby League academies, announced the news at an international basketball event at Great Sankey Leisure Centre.
The new academy has received full backing from James Hamilton, captain of basketball side BiG Storage Cheshire Jets, who have junior teams based at Birchwood and Great Sankey.
He said: "It's really encouraging to see so many young people taking an interest in sport and particularly in basketball.
"The pilot scheme was a great success and I am pleased to see the Collegiate maintaining its commitment to basketball in the town. 
"As a pro team we will be playing four BBL games in Warrington in the 08/09 season and look forward to continuing to expand our community programme."
Director of Sport at the Collegiate, Mike Stoddart, hopes the academy will encourage school leavers who are interested in the sport to take it forward into further education.
He said: "After the success of our football and rugby league academies we have seen that students are far more motivated to continue with education when they can pursue their passion for sports alongside it.
"The partnership between the Collegiate and Cheshire Jets is one that we hope will continue to grow and we're delighted that our basketball development centre will begin in September."
BiG Storage Cheshire Jets play in the British Basketball League (BBL), the sport's equivalent of the Premiership.
Anyone interested in studying a full time vocational course and playing high standard basketball should call 01925 494389.