Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, March 5, 1992 TAG: 9203050406
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: S-15 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MICHELLE RILEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
About 150 volunteers are working to make sure the five-day tournament will go without a hitch. The first game begins at 5 p.m. Friday at the Roanoke Catholic gym and will be played over two weekends.
The second weekend will include a high-school one-on-one competition and a cheerleading competition. The championship games will start at 12:30 p.m. March 15.
Almost 200 teams were eligible to play in the tournament, but 60 to 65 responded. Thirty-two teams from that group were offered bids based on their application and team record. They will compete in three divisions - midget/peewee (ages 9 and 10); little league (11 and 12); and junior league (13 and 14).
The tournament, set up in 1969, is a fund-raiser for the teams and the Knights of Columbus, a Catholic fraternal organization. Some of the proceeds go toward sponsorship of the next tournament; and the individual teams also can earn a share based on their ticket sales. The Knights use the rest to sponsor youth recreational teams in basketball, baseball, volleyball and hockey.
It cost about $3,000 to put on the tournament, said Tony Tricarico, who is in charge of the program committee. But, he said, many of the contributions are in-kind donations or work done by volunteers.
The Knights, he said, "couldn't do it for $3,000 if it wasn't for people."
The people are the volunteers, some who have been around the tournament for years.
Bob Canfield, one of the founders, said the tournament was set up in in 1969 to give 13- and 14-year-old boys on recreation basketball teams a post-season tournament because there wasn't one for that age group.
Canfield said he continues to look forward to the tournament because it gives the Knights a chance to bring together young people from the Roanoke Valley "for fun, enjoyment, camaraderie and good sport."
Other volunteers began donating their time after participating in the tournament as coaches or as parents of players.
"It was such an enjoyable tournament. . . . I was very impressed with the people who sponsored it," said Jim Farmer, who coached teams in the 1980 and 1981 competitions.
Farmer was so impressed that he told Canfield he would like to volunteer if he was ever needed, even though he was not a member of the Knights.
He was placed in charge of the tournament of the 11- and 12-year-olds two years ago.
"It's quite a program," Farmer said. "I'm trying to pay back for a little enjoyment."
The tournament has been going on so long, many of the volunteers have gone from playing in the event as children to organizing the games.
Tim Rowe played in the tournament and now is in charge of the 13- and 14-year-old division. His wife, Maureen, was involved in the tournament as a child and is on the cheerleader committee.
"These people are not in it for their own benefit," Canfield said; the Rowes don't have children old enough to participate in the tournament.
But most of the volunteers are friends and family of the 15-member tournament committee.
"There are a number of things done by people who are not [on] a committee," said Canfield. Many relatives of the Knight of Columbus members work in the concession stand, set up the gym, take statistics during the games or check tickets at the door.
And when Canfield's own children were growing up, they volunteered.
Even though each of the volunteers has a different background with the tournament, they all agree on one thing: They want the participants to have fun.
"It's not really if you win," Farmer said. "It's the taking part.
"When you get the kids to develop an attitude of compassion, that's what we're trying to represent," he said.
by CNB