EWU Spring Shootout 3-on-3 basketball tournament deadline nears

The country’s largest indoor three-on-three basketball tournament is much more than that, says the director of the Eastern Washington University Spring Shootout.

Appropriate to the campus setting, the event is a learning experience for hundreds of Eastern students who volunteer as officials and other support personnel.

“It’s a great training exercise for our students, since they get a chance to lead 40-60 people,” said Mike Campitelli, who said he’s looking forward to the 13th annual event which is scheduled for April 19-20.

The event also should be a great training exercise for that other outsized hoops event which visits downtown Spokane on the last weekend of June.

“We think we offer a great chance for players and teams to prepare for Hoopfest,” said Campitelli, who expects about 150 four-person teams for this year’s Spring Shootout.

That’s down from about 200 teams five years ago, “and that bothers me,” said Campitelli, who said that this year’s event will compete with Easter.

Campitelli likes the Eastern event because all courts are officiated, “so there’s a sense of fair play, not who yells the loudest.”

Deadline for entry is Monday and the fee is $100 per team, although Eastern students receive a discount. The event includes adult, coed and youth divisions. All teams in the double-elimination format are guaranteed to play at least three games.

Registration information and other details are available online at ewushootout.com.