Sanders County bball tournament back after hiatus

Danielle Switalski

The Sanders County pre-season basketball tournament is making its comeback this weekend and all of the county basketball teams will meet on the court starting Thursday, December 10 to Saturday, December 12.

The Varsity games will kick off at 3 p.m. in Thompson Falls on Friday, Dec. 11 with the Plains boys’ team taking on Noxon. Junior Varsity games will be held in Hot Springs and will begin on Thursday at 3 p.m.

This year, the tournament is part of a two-year trial period for all of the teams in Sanders County as the school athletic directors came together to try and reestablish the tournament that used to open up the basketball season for all of the county teams. The 2010 tournament will be hosted in Plains and Noxon.

“I participated in the this tournament over 40 years ago. The county tournament is steeped in tradition. I am positive that many of the fans this weekend will have been former athletes that participated,” said Plains Athletic Director, Orin Kendall.

Although many residents will remember this county-wide tournament, Kendall said there will be some changes to the format. First, Kendall wants to caution seating space as the athletic directors are anticipating high crowd volume and people should get there early if they want to be guaranteed a seat. Also, season passes for Thompson Falls residents will not be honored at the tournament, as the tournament is meant to generate revenue for all of the participating schools. Tournament profits will be divided evenly among Thompson Falls, Plains, Noxon and Hot Springs. When the tournament takes place in Plains in 2010, the same rules will apply for Plains residents.

Kendall said the schools also wanted to reestablish this tournament to give residents a chance to see all the teams play with minimal travel time for both teams and residents.

The original tournament was held in Plains and called the Plains Coffey Cup for boys and the Chamber Tournament for girls.

Kendall stressed that the new tournament is meant to make a profit for each school’s extracurricular programs, as the county schools are struggling financially to keep their extra-curricular activities solvent.

Trophies for the tournament were designed and constructed by Thom Chisholm’s metal class at Plains High School, with the help of Randy Garrison, owner of the Printery. The trophies display each school’s emblems. Champions of both the boys and girls JV and Varsity games will receive a trophy.

During the boys and girls Varsity championship game on Saturday night, each school will hand out a Community Service Award to an individual or organization. There will also be All County Team awards given out to six athletes at the conclusion of the championship games, including an MVP award.

Kendall stressed that it is important for residents attending the tournament to know that large numbers of crowds are anticipated and people should plan accordingly.