The Georgia High School Association for the first time will be putting on a dunk contest for boys and 3-point shooting contest for girls that will culminate at the state basketball finals March 6-7 in Macon.
The dunk contest opens Monday, when the GHSA will begin taking video from contestants. The 3-point contest will commence Feb. 1 at eight quarterfinal sites around the state. Each GHSA school is allowed one participant in each contest.
“I have been trying to get it approved for almost 10 years, and I’m just excited that this idea of mine has come to life this year,” said GHSA assistant executive director Ernie Yarbrough. “We were basically waiting for a sponsor of the event, since it is not one of our regularly scheduled team or individual events. I feel this will generate some excitement across the state for boys and girls, some who may not play on their respective school team, yet are academically eligible. It will be a great [between-games] event during the championship finals on Friday and Saturday in Macon.”
It’s also a way to promote high school basketball and school spirit through social media, Yarbrough said. “Let’s face it, that’s where the kids live in 2020.”
GHSA secured BSN, a sports apparel and equipment company, as the sponsor.
For the dunk contest, entries must be submitted by video to the GHSA from Jan. 20 to Feb. 2. All videos will be accepted online at a site to be announced Sunday.
Voting on social media will begin Feb. 3 and determine the 15 players who advance to the second round. Another round of voting Feb. 11-14 will trim the field to eight.
The eight semifinalists may submit new video Feb. 16-23. The top three vote-getters from the semifinals will advance to the championship, which will be staged March 7 between the last two championship games during state finals weekend at the Macon Centreplex.
The 3-point contest will begin Feb. 1 with eight quarterfinal events around the state. Those sites, announced Monday, are Tift County, Perry, Armuchee, Banks County, Butler, Etowah, Beach and Mundy’s Mill high schools.
Four players from each site will advance to four semifinal rounds Feb. 15, and the top four from each semifinal — 16 total — will qualify for the finals March 6.
For the 3-point contest, each participant will have one minute to shoot from three areas beyond the 3-point arc. Each area will have a rack of six balls. The first five balls count for one point, and the final ball counts for three.
For the dunk contest, no props or gimmicks are allowed, but one additional participant is allowed to assist.
All participants must wear their school basketball uniforms.
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