4 COURTS IN KIEL FOR BASKETBALL LOVERS

Germany has two teams in the Euroleague, Europe’s main basketball tournament—Alba Berlin and Bayern Munich. Kiel doesn’t even have a professional basketball team in any tournament, not even in a lower division of Germany. But that doesn’t mean there’s no people who have a passion for basketball. This is a guide to four fine quality outdoor basketball courts in Kiel that anyone who likes this sport can play in, especially if you’re an Erasmus student.

Most of the basketball courts in Kiel belong to schools or kindergartens. So you being kicked out of their territory by their groundskeeper is a highly likely event if you ever plan to visit them. Therefore, here are the four courts (in random order) that we’ve chosen as good enough for you to have a relatively fine experience and that don’t belong to a school.

1. Sportpark Gaarden court (stadt.mission.mensch gGmbH Sport- und Begegnungspark Gaarden)

• It’s a part of a very well planned sports park. It’s in between a small football field and tennis courts.
• The basketball court is pretty much as supposed to be. Two hoops, as well as the lines marking the free-throw, the three-point zone and other parts of the court are there.
• However, expect to find people playing at all times. The whole “Sportpark” is never empty.
• For real basketball lovers, the absence of a net may seem like a tragedy because when you make a shot, for full satisfaction you need to hear the net making a “swish” sound. Luckily, the nets are there, however they’re made of chains rather than nylon.
• No lighting.

2. Asmusstraße 9 court (near the Spielplatz)

• Four hoops to choose from.
• There are chain nets.
• The court is a part of a children’s playground (Spielplatz), so expect (especially on weekends) to see kids running around.
• The court isn’t just for basketball, here people also play football, which is a more popular choice than basketball of kids especially. Although, judging by the gates and the lines on the ground, it’s really a handball court.
• To be precise, the court isn’t full. It doesn’t have three-point lines, and the distance from one hoop to the one in front is smaller than on the real courts. However, there’s a free-throw line.
• No lighting.

3. CAU basketball court

• It’s in between the Sports Center of Christian Albrechts University (CAU) and CAU’s Botanical Garden.
• Has two hoops.
• The nets are rather unusual as they seem to be made of plastic.
• Doesn’t have lines (free throw, three-point, etc.).
• The ground is full of sand which is the main problem of this court. So the possibility of an injury is somewhat high.
• No lighting in the area.
• There is no need for reservations, no need to be a student of CAU either, everyone is free to enter.

4. Court near the Wasserturm (the water tower)

• Has one hoop.
• The three-point line is not full. Has a free throw line.
• It’s near a children’s playground so at times children occupy the basketball court.
• For a court, it’s rather small, so playing 5 on 5 is pretty impossible, it’s best fitted for smaller groups or just individual shooting.
• A problem with this court could be its placement directly in front of the sun. So the best time to play here is in the mornings until 2 p.m. as the sun comes from the left side.
• No lighting.

Here is a map with all of the four courts:

There are likely more good basketball courts all over Kiel waiting to be found. However, their quality might be the key concern.