Indigenous basketball teams from all corners of British Columbia converged on three school gyms in Prince George this weekend for the second annual Lheidli Classic.
“Year one was a big learning year, and we got lots of great feedback,” said Organizer Erica McLean.
“Coming into the second annual tournament this year, it was such an incredible response we received from the community.”
This year’s tournament saw an increase from 11 men’s teams last year to 20 teams split across a men’s and women’s division. McLean added there were also three teams on a waiting list.
“We really came together as a community to celebrate this event and the growth of it,” she said.
“When you scale to that degree, we almost doubled our tournament in one year, we were certain and we were expecting that we were going to have some challenges and some bumps along the way, and we did.”
McLean said there’s plenty to improve on.
“20 teams in a three day tournament is pretty intense, that’s certainly hard on some teams, we had some teams playing seven or eight games over the course of two and a half days which is pretty intense,” she said.
“I think that’s the biggest lesson learned, was that’s kind of our limit for a three-day tournament.”
McLean said they’re looking at another three-day tournament for next year as well, but nothing is set in stone.
“The conversations will just continue, of course with consultation with partners like facilities, like our team, like the local First Nation and the basketball community itself,” she said.
“I cannot emphasize enough how many conversations we had for support for future events like this, and we’re very excited to share with the City of Prince George just some of those conversations about ways that we can continue to grow this presence in the area.”
This year’s men’s final saw the reigning champion Burnaby Chiefs successfully defend their crown against Similkameen, the same team they faced in the final last year.
Similkameen’s women’s team picked up the first place finish on the women’s side, with Skanii Athletic Club taking second.
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