Dribbling around the clock tonight: Hoopfest’s first 24-hour basketball challenge to benefit foster kids

Most know Hoopfest as a signature Spokane event that tips off every final Saturday in June.

But this year, 32 volunteer basketball players took to the North Bank of Riverfront Park in the early morning of Friday, to participate in one of the first – and longest – events of the festival.

Starting at 7 a.m., nonprofit Embrace Washington kicked off Embrace Hoopfest, a 24-hour basketball challenge raising money for local children in foster care and the organizations that support them.

Jason Reinhardt, one of the event organizers, used to live in Boston and was involved with the organization Hoops for HOPE there. His experience inspired him to bring the phenomenon to Spokane.

“I moved here and I’m like, ‘This is Hooptown. Why aren’t we playing basketball and doing this here?’ ” Reinhardt said.

During the first hour of the endeavor, spirits were high. There were only two main requirements for players: raise $1,000 for charity beforehand and play basketball for the entire 24 hours until 7 a.m. Saturday, with short breaks between games.

The Hooptown USA court complex was divided into three smaller courts, with teams rotating between two 3-on-3 games every hour for three hours, and one 5-on-5 game every fourth hour, playing 42 games total.

Players wore reversible purple and white jerseys, with the white side featuring an illustration of smiling basketball players standing outside on a sunny day, drawn by a 6-year-old girl in foster care.

Points aren’t being recorded. Rather, the outcome of the event is focused on supporting what CEO of Embrace Washington Terri Crafts calls the “real winners of the game”: foster children.

Half of the funds raised from this event will go to support foster children in many ways, including medical care, tutoring and housing.

“The budget crisis is everywhere, and as other organizations are rolling back what they’re doing, we’re getting a lot more requests, and children in foster care typically have a lot of very unique needs,” Crafts said. “So all of the funding that is raised from this that we get will go directly into those programs.”

The other half of the donations will go to charities associated with Hoopfest, including the Special Olympics East Region, Chase Youth Commission and the YMCA.

Henry Briggs is one of the event planners participating in the 24 hours of basketball. As a foster father, he’s familiar with the impact of Embrace’s services. The charity stepped up and paid for his foster daughter Zoey’s dance classes when they weren’t in his family’s budget.

“Fostering is the most difficult thing I’ve ever done in my life by a landslide, but obviously the most rewarding thing,” Briggs said. “So being somewhat on the receiving end of Embrace, it’s really important to me that I give back.”

He and his wife officially adopted Zoey in 2023, and she plans to visit the court Friday evening to see her dad play.

“She’s excited. She vouches for the fact that I’m terrible at basketball, too,” Briggs said.

The idea of a 24-hour basketball tournament for charity is the brainchild of Phil Arsenault, the founder of Hoops for HOPE.

He came to Spokane for the first time this weekend to participate in Embrace’s Hoopfest. A veteran of the all-day activity, his mental preparation begins weeks before the event.

“I call it mind over matter. I get my mind ready so my being tired doesn’t matter,” Arsenault said. “That’s, to me, 90% of the battle.”

A good friend of Briggs motivated by supporting foster children, Reinhardt organized the 24-hour challenge with Embrace in mind. He showed up bright and early Friday with his 16-year-old son Levi, both ready for 24 hours of shooting hoops.

“It’ll get tough when the lights go on and the dark is out, but that’s where we caffeinate,” he said in the morning. “We’ll worry about that in 15 hours.”

Maurice Perry, a Boston native and another organizer from Hoops for HOPE, has attended each annual 24-hour tournament in Boston over the past 17 years. He flew in to Spokane at midnight, and got around four hours of sleep before he arrived at the court at 5:30 a.m.

Still, he tackled the day with the fervor of a well-rested athlete, refereeing games and supporting the players between them.

“You keep the energy, you stay engaged, you don’t lay down, you don’t sit too long,” Perry said. “If you do that, then it goes by a lot quicker than you think.”

Another participating player in Embrace Hooptown was Sen. Marcus Riccelli. Though he’s never participated in a 24-hour charity like this before, he said he’s excited to raise money for a charity he’s passionate about.

“It’s really great when the community can step up to support some folks who are most vulnerable,” Riccelli said. “Every kid, regardless of their situation and ZIP code they’re born in, deserves a shot to thrive and pursue a happy life.”