Volunteer verdict is positive

Milt Rowland has observed many different things over his 16 years as a Hoopfest volunteer.

Three years ago, Rowland recalls, the sky opened up and poured rain on the 50,000-plus players, spectators and volunteers that flood downtown Spokane every last weekend in June.

The phone lines were jammed and everyone was asking Rowland what to do. The only way he could think to reach everyone was to get on the radio and make an announcement.

“Play ball,” Rowland said to the crowd.

So they played.

“There was no lightning or thunder … there were so many stressed-out people wanting instructions from somebody, so I got on the radio and told them … everyone cheered, and we played ball,” Rowland said.

The 57-year-old law professor at Gonzaga University and private attorney was teaching in Denver in the summer of 1990 when the inaugural Hoopfest took place.

There were 2,009 players on 512 teams and 36 courts that year – numbers that have since exploded. This year, the tournament will attract more than 24,000 players on 6,102 teams that will compete on 407 courts.

Rowland played in Hoopfest the following year and two weeks later injured his ankle sliding into second base during a softball game. His outdoor basketball playing career was over, but Rowland wasn’t ready to forego being a part of the world’s largest 3-on-3 outdoor tournament – whatever it meant he had to do.

Hoopfest co-founder Rick Betts was an expert witness on one of Rowland’s cases at the time, so he asked Betts if there was anything he could do to help out. Betts was forming a court marshal committee, where marshals would be responsible for recruiting court monitors among other things, and Rowland agreed to help lead it.

“It turns out I had a knack for getting volunteers to join,” said Rowland, who was in charge of running every court and making sure it was staffed.

By 1994 the event had only continued to grow, and Rowland recalls the event needed more infrastructure. More officials were hired, and Rowland stayed on as a volunteer – responsible for the court marshals and making sure the volunteering aspect ran smoothly.

“I’ve observed a lot of changes over the years,” Rowland said. “It’s magnificent to be part of the biggest outdoor tournament in the world and to have it right here in the city I love.”

Hoopfest operations manager Chad Smith estimates 150 overall volunteers are still needed for this year’s tournament to run smoothly.

“We’re in pretty good shape, really,” Smith said. “We’ve had good response in the last two or three weeks and last year we were way behind – but we could still use more people.”

Rowland is one volunteer who admits he will be back as long as possible.

“I’ve been told more than once when resolving different issues over the years that I embody the spirit of Hoopfest,” Rowland said. “It’s about all of Spokane coming together in the streets for two days – when at Saturday at noon between 50,000 and 100,000 people are in downtown Spokane, roughly 24,000 in players, and every year it’s peaceful and about people smiling, people trying their best, not for million dollar contracts or face time on television.

“It’s about a game we love – and to volunteer for that is a great thing.”