Ucluelet Secondary School’s Warriors senior boys basketball squad take on the Gold River Cougars this weekend in the opening round of the North Island Championships.
Despite the Ministry of Health lifting restrictions for club sports tournaments on Feb. 1, the Ministry of Education has yet to green light high school sports tournaments, but individual high school games are permitted.
The Warriors will also travel the following Saturday to play the next team as Ucluelet’s new gymnasium is not quite ready for hosting games.
Coached by Alistair Reynolds and Chris Sylvester with Jason Sam as team manager, the Warriors are currently ranked No. 2 out of 17 teams in the North Island Senior A division. They won the last North Island tournament they played in before the Christmas break.
“It’s such a great thing to see these kids out playing basketball and being healthy,” said Sam, noting that Saturday’s game against Gold River will likely be an easy win for the Warriors.
The team of about 10 students started the season by practicing on the outdoor courts and then shuffled to the Wickaninnish School gymnasium for a stint before finally being able to move into the sparkling new gym at USS at the end of December.
“It’s a lot brighter and the bleachers spell out USS,” said Sylvester, who heads up the junior boys team.
RELATED: ‘Stunned’: School sports tournaments still on hold in B.C., but club tourneys can start Feb. 1
nora.omalley@westerlynews.ca
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