Enjoy games, mall shops during Hooops
Hoopfest gets the headlines; Hooops just keeps bouncing along.
The annual YMCA three-on-three basketball tournament, Hooops with three Os, runs today and Sunday in the west parking lot of the Spokane Valley Mall – its 16th year, making the Valley tournament just a year younger than its downtown Spokane big brother.
“We’re calling this our Sweet 16 year,” said Robert Bravato, a youth sports coordinator for the Spokane Valley YMCA and a tournament director. “This is going to be one of our biggest tournaments yet – we’re looking at 800 players.”
It’s an annual shift from mallrat to ballrat.
The tournament draws players from all ages. The youngest teams are made up of kids starting the third grade in the fall; this year there will be a division made up of players 50 years and older.
The action for some teams starts as early as 8 a.m. Each team is guaranteed at least three games today and another Sunday.
“We’re looking for another good tournament this year,” Bravato said. “We have some good teams back from last year and we’re looking for good weather.”
The tournament works hard to make the experience a good one for every team. Past performance is evaluated so that teams are seeded into brackets against teams of comparable experience and talent.
“We look at a team’s record,” Bravato said. “And we also look at things like point differential. We want every one to have fun.”
The tournament annually draws a pretty healthy audience.
“I would say we get anywhere from 2,500 to 3,000 people out to watch, and that’s probably being really conservative,” Bravato said. “There could easily be a lot more.”
Being close to the mall can make counting the crowd a bit tricky.
With tournaments pushing toward the century mark in past years, crowds have been known to mix in a healthy dose of shopping in air-conditioned comfort with their basketball.
“That’s one of the nice things about our location,” Bravato said. “It helps to be close to the air conditioning.”
For its part, the Mall goes out of its way to make certain visitors have a reason to come inside and do a little shopping.