WEEKENDER : Youngsters Get a Chance to Showcase Their Basketball Skills

Has Bo Kimble’s success in a recent basketball-skills contest started a trend for younger aspirants.

His winning of $100,000 in the one-day contest last month should certainly provide inspiration. But kids have been challenging one another with their individual basketball skills for as long as the game has been popular. There just haven’t been too many organized contests for them to show off such talents. Until now.

While the stakes will be considerably less than those that Kimble labored for, kids all over the Los Angeles area are entered in the “Punchy Sports Slam-Jam” this afternoon at 5 in the Westchester Recreation Center for boys and girls between the ages of 8 and 14.

Skills being contested include free-throwing, spot-shooting (shooting from various parts of the court), speed dribbling and slam-dunking, in which contest organizers will lower the hoop from its regulation 10-foot height.

The competition will be staged separately for boys and girls. They will be bracketed into age groups of 8-10, 11-12 and 13-14, with the height of the basket adjusted accordingly. Competitors must bring proof of age.

Winners at the Westchester site and other area locations will compete Aug. 4 in a city championship at the Westwood Recreation Center. From there, the top performers in each event will vie against counterparts from eight other cities around the United States. Entry is free.

Information: (213) 670-7473 or (800) 776-7378.

Tennis Everywhere?--Vacant tennis courts in Manhattan Beach are hard enough to come by during most summer weekends, and it will be even tougher this Saturday and Sunday with the Manhattan Tennis Open winding up.

Competition is being held for men and women at least 16 years old in singles and doubles as well as mixed doubles, with awards going to top players in five different skill levels. The sole age-group category is doubles for men 55 and older.

The Junior Manhattan Volleyball Open tournament for boys and girls up to the 10th-grade, originally scheduled for this weekend at the Manhattan Beach pier, has been rescheduled for Aug.11-12.

Information for both the tennis and volleyball tournaments: (213) 545-5621, Ext. 322.

The Beat Goes On--NBA rookies and hopefuls continue to audition for professional basketball contracts with the second weekend of the Southern California Summer Pro Basketball League at Albert Gersten Pavilion on the Loyola Marymount campus. Four games each day, starting at 11:15 a.m., will be played today, Saturday and Sunday. Admission is $5 per day.

Racing fans can continue to follow any of three types--bicycle, motorcycle or automobile--in the South Bay this weekend.

The Velodrome, next to the Cal State Dominguez Hills campus in Carson, hosts the Golden State Grand Prix series of bicycle racing tonight at 7:30, while Ascot Park in Gardena has the California Motorcycle Club competition tonight at 7:30 and the California Racing Assn. sprint car competition Saturday at 8 p.m.