Over the next two weekends NWT and Nunavut basketball teams will battle it out in Yellowknife at the Annual NWT Power Corporation Junior Cager and Senior Cager Basketball Championships. Starting at 4:00 p.m. today all Members can enjoy watching 37 different junior basketball teams from six Yellowknife schools, Princess Alexandra school in Hay River, SAMS school in Inuvik, the Tulita Wolves, and a team from the Kugluktuk High School right through until late Sunday afternoon. Next weekend the Senior Cagers go to work, again from Friday afternoon until late Sunday. Yellowknife’s high school teams will go up against teams from Fort Simpson, Cambridge Bay, and Inuvik.
These two weekends will showcase both our young up and coming athletes and our current star athletes in the great sport of basketball. There will be competition in five different categories: Grade 6 category, Grade 7, and Grade 8 for the Junior Cager; and under 15 and under 19 divisions in the Senior Cager. Some of these players will represent the NWT at the 2009 Canada Summer Games in August of this year being held in PEI.
This is a big tournament. Last year Yellowknife hosted 39 teams from nine schools with more than 379 athletes who played 88 basketball games in 2.5 days. And that’s just the numbers for the juniors’ weekend. You can almost double that for the two weekends’ totals.
These two tournaments would not be possible without the efforts of volunteers: the numerous teachers and community members who coached the teams, the Yellowknife members of Basketball NWT who volunteer tirelessly before and during these championship weekends to ensure that the kids have a great time and enjoy the competition. Nor would a tournament of this magnitude be possible without the corporate sponsorship of the NWT Power Corporation. As much as we love to hate the Power Corporation, they recognize the value that sports and an active lifestyle can have for our young people. The Power Corporation’s donation of $7,000 to the Cager tourneys shows their commitment to NWT youth and ensures successful championships.
In closing, I encourage all Members to find a noisy gym this weekend or next and watch our young people in action. I promise you will not be disappointed.