Hot hotshots
As Hoopfest players ground their way through games on the baked streets of downtown Spokane on Saturday, thousands of fans hunted for shade and a cool breeze during a scorching first day of Hoopfest 2008.
The 90-degree weather put a parking lot court between Main and Riverside out of commission when its asphalt surface turned soft in the heat. Games on that court were reassigned.
Today is expected to be even hotter, with temperatures forecast to reach the upper 90s.
Still, Hoopfest Executive Director Rick Steltenpohl said Saturday was among the least-eventful first days he’s seen in Hoopfest’s history.
“My phone hardly rang at all. It was a good day, even if it was pretty hot.”
The number of players taking part in Saturday’s 3-on-3 games exceeded 25,000, Hoopfest organizers said. That’s the most ever in the 19 years of the event, billed as the largest 3-on-3 tourney anywhere.
An estimated 150,000 others walked through downtown, watching games and enjoying the crowds.
Seven-year-old Christian Wilson, who moved to Spokane with his parents recently from San Diego, said he liked Hoopfest “because it’s like a fair, with basketball.”
The lost-child tent reported 15 children were separated from parents or guardians. All were quickly reunited, Steltenpohl said.
Medical volunteers reported having a relatively quiet first day as well.
The main medical tent reported 208 wounds and lacerations, 169 sprains or strains, and only 50 cases of dehydration.
“It’s way lower than we expected for dehydration. I guess people paid attention and took care of themselves between games,” said Keith Eggleston, sports medicine coordinator for Rockwood Clinic. The clinic provides medical care during the tournament.
Downtown business managers either had a stellar sales day or shrugged off the loss caused by blocked streets and limited parking. Restaurants and coffee shops reported steady and brisk business. Some retailers, like Andy Dinnison, owner of novelty shop Boo Radley’s, said the day’s sales were good but not extraordinary.
“I wish I had an aloe vera spray booth to treat people who came in with sunburn,” he said.
Hoopfest relies on about 3,000 volunteers; about 550 of those are court monitors, assigned to referee games and resolve disputes between teams.
Despite the heat, only a few tempers reached the boiling point during afternoon games.
“We’ll get about one team out of every 15 here that starts doing something a little physical,” said court marshal Mike Crowley. “We take care of them really basic. We remind them why we’re here.”
One of the first-year volunteer monitors who handled 20 games during Saturday’s action was 22-year-old Gonzaga University graduate Chelsea Clinton. As a cash-strapped college graduate, Clinton said she agreed to be a monitor in exchange for the free pair of Nike athletic shoes, shorts and shirt.
“The shoes haven’t arrived yet and the shirt and shorts they gave me are too big,” she said, laughing. “I also like working with the younger kids because they play hard but are really still having a real good time.”
Jefferson Spring, who lives in Olympia after moving from Spokane, came downtown not for Hoopfest but to do some shopping. It was his first up-close encounter with Hoopfest, and Spring said he found it enjoyable.
“I have very little interest in sports, really. But this is all right. I’d rather see this than a monster truck rally in downtown. At least this is good clean fun and it promotes healthy activity.”