On court, basketballers made nonchalant "no-look passes." Off court, players were passed information about HIV/AIDS.

Belize Red Cross' Together We Can (TWC) program volunteers held a basketball tournament on August 14 th and 21 st for young people between the ages of ten and 19 years. The venue was the Belize City Centre courtyard. The tournament, which had as its theme "Together We Can fight against HIV and AIDS," was sponsored by UNICEF.

Thirteen teams of six players each participated. The event was open to teams from the southern side of Belize City .

The final was played between Universal and Crawl Road . Before the decider however, players, their supporters and others sat down under a tent to learn more about HIV/AIDS. For some, it was their first time learning about the virus.

HIV/AIDS in the Central American country is reported to have orphaned more than 1,000 children. The prevalence rate is said to be 2%.

"If you met someone who was HIV positive or who had AIDS what would they want to know or what questions you would ask?" That was the question volunteers put to the young audience. Some of the questions that came in reply were "Do you know who you contracted the virus from, and what did you do when you found out?" and "How is your life now?"

Errol Fairweather spoke from personal experience as a person living with HIV/AIDS, and answered all their questions. Mr Fairweather is a volunteer with the TWC programme, which aims to educate teens and young adults about HIV/AIDS and other Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs), as well as to minimize stigma and discrimination towards Persons Living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHAs). The programme started in Jamaica a few years ago, and is now being used by other Red Cross entities in the region.

After the interesting session, it was back to the court for the final. The Crawl Road team emerging winners by three points, taking the first place team trophy, gold medals and the cash prize. Universal received the second place trophy and silver medals. Jason Elm of Crawl Road was voted the most disciplined player.

After all their on-court exertions, players were rewarded with Certificates of Participation. Referees Raymond Gongora and Brads Neal, and statisticians Gregory Soberanes, James Lewis, Tricia Renea and Alfonso Martinez were also presented with certificates. Assisting in the distribution was national epidemiologist, Dr Paul Edwards.

The tournament was organized with the support of such bodies as the Belize Sports Council , Belize Scout Association, Zeta Ice Factory and Youth for the Future.