X.A.N. Thessaloniki

X.A.N. Thessaloniki is a Christian youth development organisation that is based in Thessaloniki, Greece, and which comprises the homonymous Greek multi-sport club. The club was founded in 1921, and has teams in basketball, volleyball, handball, water polo, and others sports. X.A.N. Thessaloniki is part of YMCA in Thessaloniki, which is a Christian universal welfare movement.

X.A.N. Thessaloniki
Full nameYoung Men's Christian Association Thessaloniki
(Χριστιανική Αδελφότητα Νέων Θεσσαλονίκης)
Founded1921
Colours    Blue, Red
Departments of X.A.N. Thessaloniki
Basketball Volleyball Handball

The club name is also transliterated to H.A.N. Thessaloniki (abbreviation H.A.N.T.H.) or C.A.N. Thessaloniki (abbreviation C.A.N.T.H.). The club is most widely known as being YMCA's Thessaloniki association (YMCA Thessaloniki). Historically, the most successful sports team of X.A.N.T.H. is the men's basketball team. In recent years, the club's most successful teams are the volleyball and handball teams that play in the higher national championships.

Departments
Team sports

History

X.A.N. Thessaloniki was the first team which imported the sport of basketball into Greece.[1] X.A.N.T.H. organised the first unofficial regional basketball championship of Thessaloniki in 1924, with the participation of X.A.N.T.H., Aris Thessaloniki, Iraklis Thessaloniki, Armenian Union, VAO, Maccabi Thessaloniki, and Akoah. They also organised the first unofficial Panhellenic Basketball Championship in 1926, with the presence of X.A.N.T.H., Aris, PAOK, Iraklis, and AEK Athens.[1] Since the beginning of the official Panhellenic Basketball Championship, X.A.N.T.H. has managed be the championship's finalist one time, in 1930.

X.A.N.T.H. was also active in the sport of volleyball from its first years. It organised the first regional volleyball championship of Thessaloniki in 1923, and a new championship in 1924, with the presence of X.A.N.T.H., Iraklis, Aris, Sportive Etoile, Byron, American School, and Nouka School.[2]

X.A.N. Thessaloniki was also one of the first sports clubs to create a handball team in Greece. The handball team of X.A.N. Thessaloniki was founded in 1979, almost simultaneously with the beginning of the first Greek Handball Championship. In the current season, the club's handball team plays in the A1 first national division (A1 Ethniki).[3]

Sport facilities
The YMCA building in Thessaloniki.

The sport facilities of X.A.N. Thessaloniki are located in the centre of Thessaloniki, near the White Tower. In 1923. the first basketball court of X.A.N.T.H. was built.[4] It was an open air court gymnasium that hosted important sporting events in Thessaloniki. In 1934, the new classic building of X.A.N.T.H. was completed, and the sports activities of the club moved there.[5] In the early 2000s, the open basketball court was demolished, and a new indoor basketball hall, the New Sports Center Y.M.C.A., was built, with a capacity of 1,300 spectators. In 2013, X.A.N.T.H. founded the first basketball museum in Greece.[4]

References
  1. "Ιστορία μπάσκετ". ymca.gr. Retrieved 4 December 2015.
  2. "ιστορία βόλεϊ". ymca.gr. Retrieved 4 December 2015.
  3. "ΧΑΝΘ". handball.gr. Retrieved 4 December 2015.
  4. "Γήπεδο μπάσκετ". ymca.gr. Retrieved 4 December 2015.
  5. "Ιστορία εγκατάστασεων". ymca.gr. Retrieved 4 December 2015.
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