Hoopfest 2009

Photos from action in downtown Spokane for the 20th Hoopfest

Section:Gallery

Sat., June 27, 2009

Nick Matthews and his dad Robert of Seattle take the afternoon off from a visit with grandma and grandpa to watch a few Hoopfest games in downtown Spokane.

Rajah Bose For The Spokesman-Review
Steve Merrill of Bonners Ferry performs a dunk and wins the Hoopfest dunk contest at center court Saturday.

Rajah Bose For The Spokesman-Review
Santa's li'l Helpers stretch out before their afternoon game.

Rajah Bose For The Spokesman-Review
Neal Troyer takes a load off as he and his buddies try to return a cart as day one of Hoopfest winds down.

Rajah Bose For The Spokesman-Review
Susan Baker, coach of the team Extreme Fizz from Bellevue, gives her players some advice.

Rajah Bose For The Spokesman-Review
Kolya Rabinowitch, 14, watches a game from a skywalk.

Rajah Bose The Spokesman-Review
Hundreds of teams compete in the streets of Spokane for Hoopfest.

Rajah Bose For The Spokesman-Review
Ron Vandersehaaf of Accent Insurance drives on Dan McFaul of B Sports during their game Saturday.

Rajah Bose For The Spokesman-Review
Thousands of spectators and players jammed into Riverfront Park to celebrate Hoopfest.

J. Bart Rayniak The Spokesman-Review
Crowds moved slowly through Riverfront Park Saturday as thousands of Hoopfest players and fans jammed downtown Spokane.

J. Bart Rayniak The Spokesman-Review
"Dad, take the ball," shouts Jerry Stretch, as he tried to scoop the ball to his 72-year-old father, Ed, during Hoopsfest action. This was Ed's first year playing Hoopfest, and he played with both of his sons. They played in the 50 and over division on the team, "Better Golf Foursome", against "The Old School Legends" of Nespelem.

J. Bart Rayniak The Spokesman-Review
Court monitor Larry Hawkins keeps a watchful eye on Hoopfest action. He played in seven Hoopfests before volunteering as a court monitor three years ago.

J. Bart Rayniak The Spokesman-Review
B.J. Phillips of Kent, Wash., listens carefully to pregame instructions before his game with his team, K Town Hoopsters.

J. Bart Rayniak The Spokesman-Review
Randy Schwaegler patrols Main street as he oversees his court monitors. He has been a court marshall at Hoopfest for the past eight years.

J. Bart Rayniak The Spokesman-Review
Carol Ann Smith cheers for her son Cojo and his team, 3 Men & Cojo. She and her husband Brad used to get all worked up watching their son play Hoopfest, but now restrain themselves. "They're just playing for a t-shirt," she said calmly.

J. Bart Rayniak The Spokesman-Review
Hoopfest action gets started early Saturday morning on Post Street, looking north from Riverpark Square.

J. Bart Rayniak The Spokesman-Review
Former West Valley HS head basketball coach Jamie Nilles hooks his opponent while driving to the hoop.

J. Bart Rayniak The Spokesman-Review
Team Wakamatsu is made up of old high school buddies John Hentges of Kirkland, Andy Mitchell of Cheney, Alex Schuerman of Spokane, and Ryan Larson of Los Angeles. They have played together for 17 years.

J. Bart Rayniak The Spokesman-Review
Scott Thompson came all the way from Stockton, Calif. to wear "old school tie dye" for his team "California Love."

J. Bart Rayniak The Spokesman-Review
Hayden Burris warms up next to triplets Derek, Jacob and Brad Redden before their first game Saturday morning. The triplets, who were born in Spokane, have been living in China for the past year, and came back to play in Hoopfest. The name of their team, Shekou, means "snakes mouth" and is the name of the city in China where they live.

J. Bart Rayniak The Spokesman-Review
Basketball courts were added inside the Washington Street tunnel this year as Hoopfest continued to add teams. The Shoot Stars from Priest River played E=MC2.

J. Bart Rayniak The Spokesman-Review