Hoop it up

For the second straight year an Aboriginal basketball tournament will be held in Calgary on Canada Day.

The second annual Aboriginal Youth Hoops Tournament is scheduled for July 1.

The inaugural event was held at Calgary's Millennium Park. But this year's tournament is moving indoors and will be staged at the Rundle Community Association.

The name of the event is somewhat misleading. It is not strictly for youth. Those eligible to take part are Aboriginal players aged 16 to 29.

"Interest is very high for this year's event," said tournament chairperson Doneen Russell.
Four Calgary-based agencies join forces to run the event. They are YMCA Calgary, the Boys and Girls Club of Calgary Aboriginal Services, the Urban Society For Aboriginal Youth and Metis Calgary Family Services.

Registration for the event is free. But Russell said organizers will only start accepting registrations when sponsorship for the tournament has been secured.

"I'm hoping that will be done in the next couple of weeks," Russell said in early April.

Last year's tournament cost about $3,000 to run. Some of the costs are for the awards that will be presented at the tournament and for the free T-shirt every participant will receive.
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The inaugural event featured 10 teams (five players per side). The tournament is a 3-on-3 event. Teams play on a half-court and can substitute a player when they wish.

Matches last for 30 minutes or until a team scores 21 points, whichever comes first.

Doneen Russell is hoping to have a minimum of 12 clubs take part in this year's tournament, but judging by pre-tournament interest, Russell said there might even be a chance organizers will have to cap the number of entrants at 24 teams.

Besides the matches themselves, there will also be 3-point shooting and dunking competitions.
And a twist that has been added this year is there will be some non-basketball events dubbed urban life competitions, which will be held in conjunction with the tournament.

Among the activities being offered are a hip hop competition and a graffiti/art painting contest.
More information on the events is available at www.ymcacalgary.org/hoops/hoops.html