School District No. 46 recently wrapped up their basketball season, with two tournaments at Elphinstone and Chatelech secondary schools.
Even under the cloud of job action and Bill 22, teachers felt that the kids should have their "day on the court."
The athletes began the mornings with a clap and a show of appreciation for the teachers being there and taking part in the day.
Ellen Thomas and her Chat girls' team supported the day with referees and scorekeepers including Zoey Schutz, Emily Arsenault and Stephanie Kirkham, former West Sechelt Elementary School stars who ran the tourney at Sechelt Elementary School.
Champs on the day were the Roberts Creek girls, who nosed out a 7-4 final victory in the 'A' flight, over a game Halfmoon Bay team. Cedar Grove won the consolation final 14-12 in a thriller over Madeira Park.
In the 'B' flight, Langdale gave the West Sechelt girls everything they could handle in the final, but Megan Robinson's last minute basket won it for West Sechelt 12-10. Gibsons squeaked out a 9-7 win over Roberts Creek in the consolation final.
Cedar Grove was the strongest competitor in the 'C' flight for grades 4 and 5, with both teams advancing to the final. The West Sechelt/Davis Bay combined team won the consolation final, with Rachel Rempel of Davis Bay doing much of the scoring damage.
The boys' tournament at Elphi was equally well refereed with the North Shore champion junior boys making the day a success.
In the 'A' flight, none of the schools was able to handle the twin towers of Jordan Robinson and Nathanial Marshall of West Sechelt, as the boys went undefeated through the round robin and into the finals.
The expected showdown with Roberts Creek never materialized, however, as the feisty little group from Gibsons upset the Creekers in the semis. The much smaller Gibsons crew gave it their all, but were simply brushed aside by the West Sechelt squad. The Creek boys took out their disappointment on last year's champs Cedar Grove, winning 14-4 in the consolation final.
In probably the most exciting game of the day, Halfmoon Bay and Gibsons traded baskets right until the final buzzer, where after a full time tie game, the teams entered into a one-minute shoot-off to see who would be the 'B' flight champions. With all teammates shooting, the score was tied at six baskets each after 30 seconds, but the back end of the Halfmoon Bay lineup chipped in with another four buckets to take home the hardware in a thrilling finish.
In the 'B' consolation, Kinnikinnick beat Madeira Park 13-8.
The 'C' flight, played at Gibsons Elementary School, turned out to be home court advantage for Gibsons as they hung on to defeat the Davis Bay/Gibsons Christian School team 13-9.
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