Woods Homes basketball tourney returns

Times Reporter     

 

The annual Woods Homes 3 on 3 basketball tournament is returning for a fifth year on Sept. 20. 

Registration for the tournament will be open until Sept. 18, and any basketball players, competitive or not are welcome to sign up. The only rule is that players must be high school age or older.

“There’s no skill requirements, just coming out, having fun and playing some ball,” said Carole Britton, manager of the Strathmore program.  

The tournament started five years ago thanks to Britton. At the time basketball was a huge part of life for her and her family. 

“It’s (also) a fundraising event to provide Christmas Hampers for families in Wheatland County. This year there is no entry fee however, because this year we made it our anniversary event.” 

Britton said they are asking for non-perishable food items to be donated. The tournament will run all day, and there will be semi-finals and finals, and this year the winning team will walk away with $500. 

“In the intermission we also have various competitions, like a dunk competition, or three-point shooting competition,” said Britton.

Depending on the teams that register there will be a fun league and a competitive one. This year there are already three teams that have signed up made up of some ex-college ball players, from Red Deer Kings, Drumheller Dinos, 2012 provincial medalists, so Britton predicts it will be more competitive this year. 

Woods Homes has been in Strathmore for 10 years, and the agency as a whole is celebrating 100 years this year. 

Woods is a children’s mental health agency working with youth ages six to 17. On average 20 families per year are helped in Strathmore and Wheatland County. One of the homes opened in Strathmore in 2004 and there are three house parent group homes in Strathmore. There is also in-home family support. 

“We were born in Strathmore to keep rural kids connected to their community, I think that’s our biggest reason for being,” said Britton. 

Previous to Woods Homes coming into Strathmore the kids in the program would be sent to Calgary or Red Deer, meaning they couldn’t stay in their schools or around their friends, which in itself could be detrimental to their mental health.

Next year Britton is considering changing things up, and switching from a basketball tournament to something different. She hasn’t determined what exactly the tournament will look like next year, but did say she is open to suggestions. 

To register your team, contact Carole Britton at carole.britton@woodshomes.ca or by phone at 403-816-0338.