Oak Ridge will try to set a Guinness World Record on Saturday in a basketball game known as “knockout.”
The attempt to break the previous world record is part of the Secret City Festival this weekend.
The Dallas Mavericks set the record for the largest game of basketball knockout with 701 participants in Dallas, Texas, on October 4, 2015. The game lasted 27 rounds and more than three hours, according to Guinness World Records. Team owner Mark Cuban was there before the record-setting attempt to check out the court and the turnout, and he also motivated the basketball shooters.
Organizers of this year’s Secret City Festival in Oak Ridge want to do better than Cuban and the Mavericks. They need at least 702 shooters to set the new world record.
“Come and participate on June 9 and help Oak Ridge shatter that record!” Secret City Festival organizers said. “Since the Manhattan Project during World War II, Oak Ridge has been known as a technology giant, but ‘knockout’ allows the city to highlight a rich athletic history as well.”
Oak Ridge is hoping to attract girls and boys of all ages to this exciting event on Saturday, June 9 at “high noon,” a press release said. You must be there by noon to participate. There are no age limits. All ages—from elementary school to those who moved to Oak Ridge in the 1940s—are welcome.
“What an awesome event to bring our community together, young and old!” the press release said.
“Often played to hone basketball skills, knockout is a game in which players line up behind a selected shooting point,” Guinness World Records said. “Two players at a time each take a ball and try to shoot a free throw. If the player misses, they must grab the rebound and score as fast as possible. When one player successfully scores, the other is out, and the ball goes to the next person until there is only one person left standing.”
A Veterans Parade starting at 10 a.m. Saturday will end right in time for those veterans to participate alongside the anticipated crowd. The first 702 shooters will receive a commemorative T-shirt, so don’t be late.
Dick’s Sporting Goods, Dish Network, Mortgage Investors, Electronic Express, and a host of others are supporting this record-breaking event, the press release said. Giveaways throughout the three hours will be given out, and they will include gift cards from Dick’s, a portable basketball goal and several basketballs, along with a slew of other goodies, the press release said. Also, Secret City Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram is giving away a free car to the winner of a half-court shot. This one free-shot promotion is open to all participants after they have been eliminated from the knockout game.
Finally, several participants will be able to compete against a free throw-shooting robot, the press release said. That video will be sent by WATE-TV to ESPN, and the hope is that it will be featured on ESPN’s Top 10 plays of the night, organizers said.
“So come compete for your 15 seconds of fame!” the press release said.
This year’s Secret City Festival is part of the 75th anniversary celebration of the City of Oak Ridge, which was built during the top-secret Manhattan Project during World War II.
“Oak Ridge helped save the world 75 years ago, and this year, the plan is to set a world record,” the press release said. “Don’t miss this once in a lifetime opportunity! See you there!”
More information will be added as it becomes available.
See the Secret City Festival website here.
See our previous story on the Secret City Festival, which includes a summary of events, here.
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