ASHMONT – Ashmont School's recent alumni basketball tournament on April 7 was a slam dunk after the event was paused for several years.
Sarjenka Kuryliw, a teacher and coach at the school, and one of the tournament's organizers, expressed her pride in the fundraiser’s success, which featured a total of 11 teams split into men’s and women’s divisions.
Despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, preventing the tournament from taking place in 2020, the event met the organizers' expectations in terms of attendance and participation. Kuryliw noted that the gym was mostly full throughout the day, with people watching and cheering on the athletes.
Looking ahead, Kuryliw is hopeful that future tournaments will have an even higher turnout. She was also happy with the number of people who expressed interest in helping to organize the next one, expected to happen in three years.
“It's really great to see that we put on an event where people are motivated and willing to get involved and help plan and facilitate future events,” she said.
This year, the tournament followed three-on-three format, which was different from previous alumni tournaments. While there was some initial reluctance about the change, multiple people came up to express their appreciation on the change, “and actually thought it went really well.”
All proceeds from the fundraiser tournament will go toward the school's athletic department and will help to keep sports fees as low as possible for current students, according to Kuryliw.
She concluded by thanking all of the attendees and people who came out to support the event, as well as the Ashmont School staff who took time out of their Easter long weekend to help keep the event running.
"I do want to recognize that we did have educational assistants as well as teachers attending to help run the events on a non-school day on a long weekend," she explained.
Results
For the women’s category, team Treaty Chix took first place, while Moose Meat Mafia placed second.
On the men’s side, The Has Beens won first place, with Next Gen Falcons tailing in second place.
