Hoopfest Prepares Its Army Of Volunteers For Midnight Madness

It started in 1990 with 511 teams on 30 courts.

This year Hoopfest will unleash 3,636 teams on 30 blocks.

In five years, the 3-on-3 street basketball tournament in Spokane has defied the norm. Every year, bigger is better.

The logistics of turning downtown into the nation’s largest street tournament are formidable. When streets close at 10 Friday night, June 23, 5 miles of tape will go down on 225 courts and 14 tents will go up.

Hoops, speaker towers, master scoreboard, bleachers, tables for court monitors, booths and space for food and beverage vendors will be in place before a ball meets the pavement on Saturday morning, June 24.

“We have one night to set up,” Hoopfest executive director Rick Steltenpohl said. “It’s incredible what we get done in one night.”

The premise is as simple as the task is complex.

“We barricade the streets,” Steltenpohl said, “and go hog wild.”

In the early years, the challenge was getting the hoops in place.

“Now it’s all the ancillary items,” Steltenpohl said.

Details are passed along a chain of volunteers. A core of about 300 will get a Hoopfest T-shirt for pulling the event together. Some will get in on merchandise donated by Nike.

It’s not a lot for doing a lot.

“Tipoff time for us is April,” Steltenpohl said. “That’s when volunteers start working the 4-6-8 hours a day.”

Dianne Sullivan works in the Hoopfest office in the Seafirst Building. Her husband, Pat, is a court monitor. Their daughter, Colleen Volk, has been on the Hoopfest board for five years. Another daughter, Kathleen Parrish, does registration and graphics.

It’s more than a family event to Sullivan. She’s introduced some of her friends - Sue Etter, Mary Pat Schemmel, Lynn Rudy and Sue Brooks - to the joys of working for virtually nothing for an event that is a lot of fun for other people.

Regina Runyan works in the Hoopfest office after she puts in her time with Bloomsday.

“Where do you stop naming people who make a difference?” Steltenpohl said. “Bob and Lois Shirley have been involved since Day One.

“Brenda Bartel is an input fiend. She’s kind of the one we turn to when we have to turn up the heat on the computer. We enter every player’s name in the computer. The normal pace is 15 teams an hour. She can do twice that, but then she was a math major.”

Jill Smallwood works four hours a day in the office. Smallwood, Sullivan, Christal Raver and Mike Munro are the officer personnel listed on Hoopfest letterhead.

Others are unnamed.

‘Kevin Parker does a lot of work on-site (on the streets) with backboards and construction,” Steltenpohl said. “The site guys - Randy Smith, Jim Redmond - move all the hoops. Jerry Karstetter manages the on-site operations.

“Ernie Becker programs our court monitors.

“An operating committee of 19 key people oversees the weekend. K.W. Knorr is one. He heads the court marshal committee. Two nights last week he was here until 1 a.m. Why? He’s a tree surgeon.”

He’s also a referee. Officials have made this a better event.

Bob Simpson and Chuck Filippini

are other veteran basketball officials who lend their expertise.

Jody Hamilton has the delicate job of game management. Eligibility questions go to her.

Brian McClain gets the basketball equipment to the right places. Hal McGlathery, manager of Riverfront Park, is court marshal of the open division. Steve Kutsch designs the event T-shirts.

“The people who do this for basically nothing do it because they believe in the event and take pride in it,” Steltenpohl said.

Notes

Two who guided Shadle Park to the 1990 State AAA championship reunite at Hoopfest in the Action Sportswear men’s 6-foot-and-over open division. It’s way over 6-foot in this case. Aaron Childress and 6-9 Rob Corkrum are teaming up with Kevin Wright and Greg Stern of Whitworth on a team sponsored by KZZU… . Bobby Jack is back: Ratball legend Bobby Jack Sumler is on another contender in men’s open. Sumler is teamed with ex-Whitworth star Randy Smith and David Peed, leading scorer on Eastern Washington’s last strong team of 1990… . Eastern alums are all over the Action Sportswear open division. Ex-Eagle Kemo Patrick is coming in as Up Top Sportswear with Dana Adams, Leonard Woodard and Gonzaga’s Keith Kincaid… . Dr. Hook is captained by ex-EWU forward John Garrison, who lists EWU alums Greg Olson, Ronn McMahan and EWU assistant Rusty Smith as teammates… . Troy LeBlanc and Austin Layton join Bennie Hicks and Duron McKaskill on a foursome that originally went for the name Nuthin’ But Net. That was scratched, however, and in its place on the registration form went a simpler and different name completely, Alcoholics… . Jason Steele is a 6-7 former Eagle who joins ex-Gonzaga Prep standout Hugh Stephens… . Another G-Prep alumnus with collegiate experience, Todd Doolittle, brings some big friends from out of town. Doolittle has imported three of his ex-teammates at the University of Puget Sound - 6-7 Casey Irgens, 6-8 Matt Droege and 6-10 Todd Vukelich … . They may not shoot the three but they’re hell to block out: Ken Kuiper and Bob O’Neal, starters on Washington State’s 1988 Aloha Bowl football team, are coming in aptly named. They’re on a team that calls itself Busters. Kuiper was a 280-pound Coug offensive tackle, O’Neal an active linebacker… . Central Washington footballer Malik Roberson is the muscle on an Ellensburg entry that has a shot. Roberson has lined up 6-6 Leon Johnson to go with CWU’s Ryan Pepper and Jason Pepper… . There’s no shortage of football influence. Tim Hunsaker and Jesse Hardt , both from Eastern’s football team, are entered with John Beckman and Nathan Dunham… . Chris Winkler, a perimeter-shooting guard for George Raveling’s ‘83 NCAA Tournament team at Washington State, is coming in from Kennewick with another well-named team, Rock ‘n Fire… . Winkler isn’t the only one with legendary shooting range. Bobby Zapien, a bomber for Granger a couple of years back in the State B Tournament, can fire it up from the curb. Zapien will play with a team from Granger, D and H Glass.

A concern was laid to rest when the contractor working on the downtown Spokane Transit Authority edifice said that the concrete project around the building will start after Hoopfest, leaving Sprague and Riverside open. There’s the usual construction mess to contend with but that beats having the streets offlimits. Four courts will go up on Riverside east of Howard… . The team count of 3,636 is up from last year’s record 3,210… . The winners in the men’s 6-foot-and-over open division two years ago - Send It In - are back. Ex-Whitworth star Jason Hull again teams with John Graham. The captain is Bob Swannack, with 6-5 Leon Covington their fourth player… . Two Huskies, Rhonda Smith and Katia Foucade, are entered with a women’s team calling itself Eb and Four… . Sam Mosely, an ex-Nevada-Reno forward, now 36, is coming in from Reno with a group called the Reno All-Nighters… . Players who perform at rim level will encounter an improvement this year. Steel backboard supports will be padded for the first time.

, DataTimes