Fort St. James Secondary School (FSJSS)hosted 18 teams in two gyms Jan. 9-10, making it one of the largest basketball tournaments ever held in the north. Usually large tournaments have about 16 teams and are run over three or four days.
Girls and boys teams from Vanderhoof, Fraser Lake, Valemount, McBride, Quesnel, Chetwynd and Burns Lake participated in senior and junior games. Both gyms at FSJSS were filled with cheering spectators throughout the Friday and Saturday tournament.
“A tournament this big could not happen without a huge commitment by the staff and students from FSJSS,” said James Wadell, Athletic director in Fort St. James. “A total of 44 students and 10 FSJSS staff provided assistance. The coaches and parents of basketball teams were also very involved in different ways. We had 14 different referees working the 28 games played. A huge thank you to everyone who helped us make the tournament successful. A special thanks goes out to teacher Andrew Vogelsang, and students Mackenzie Moeller, Dani Dean, Hargina Birdi, Harry Goerz, Jayden Greenaway, and Sammy Roessler.”