Local church starts basketball tournament
By KRISTI PIHL Staff Reporter
Hoop It Up should be a slam dunk for local basketball enthusiasts.
Camano Chapel is hosting the Stanwood-Camano Hoop It Up Sat. and Sun., July 11 and 12, at Stanwood High School (SHS).
It will be a weekend filled with 3-on-3 basketball, said Mich Michl, Camano Chapel pastor. All day Saturday, teams will compete to reach the next rung on the ladder. Each team is guaranteed to play at least three games.
On Sunday, a celebration service will be held from 10 to 11 a.m., in the SHS gym. Ryan Appleby, SHS graduate, will speak.
Appleby was SHS's alltime leader in points scored in basketball, and played for the University of Washington. Currently, he is running basketball camps in the Seattle area.
"Ryan's a well-known Christian athlete in the community," Michl said.
He will provide insight into balancing life priorities, he said.
After the service, the competitions will resume.
The tournament has eight divisions for males and females high school age and up. Teams of four register together. Registration costs $80 per team, and the registration form must be received by Tues., June 30.
Just a few teams are signed up right now, Michl said,
"We want a whole bunch more," he said.
Numerous adults have already volunteered to help as referees, scorekeepers and runners. More volunteers are welcome, he said.
Michl said he and Brett Reid, the senior high youth director at Camano Chapel, came up with the idea while trying to figure out a community event they could host. Similar basketball tournaments are done across the U.S. In Spokane, the event is so large it shuts down streets in the city.
It's an event that Michl hopes will be repeated annually.
"All we need is basketball players and lots of them," he said.
For more information, to register a team or to volunteer, go to www.stanwoodcamanohoopitup. com.
Staff Reporter Kristi Pihl: 629-8066 (ext. 125) or kpihl@ scnews.com.
