Loughborough PS Barnstorm B-Ball Tourney

May 03, 2012

Photo: The Loughborough Lions faced off against the Polson Park Panthers and the Lions won the game 38-27 bringing the team to 1 and 2 in the initial round robin.

There was non-stop action on the side by side courts at Sydenham High School for Loughborough Public School's annual Barnstorm Junior Basketball Classic Tournament held on April 28. The tournament, which has been running for a decade, attracted teams from 17 different school in the Limestone District School Board in grades four through six and saw close to 200 students participating.

LPS grade eight teacher Mark McCrady, who coaches the Loughborough Lions boys’ team, said the event is very popular with students. “Basketball is a great game and the students love to play for their school teams. This tournament is a great way to emphasize fun, competitive sport, good sportsmanship and fitness.” McCrady added that students from Loughborough and Sydenham High School also benefit by being invited to act as referees and score keepers for all the games. “It's also great overall for our community since it brings a lot of traffic to local areas businesses, which is also a good thing.” He said. The Lions boys’ team fared well in the tournament and made it to the consultation finals, but were beat out by J.E. Horton PS in their final game 35-24. The female Lions coached by Erik Vreeken had a great tournament and after sweeping the initial round robin 3-0 made it to championship finals where they came head to head against the Welborne Public School Wildcats in a nail biter of a game that came down to the wire. The Lions lost by a single point.

Hats off to all the participants, fans, and the student refs and score keepers who made the tournament another a great success.