Hoops 4 Hunger marathon a huge success
The Riverview Collegiate gymnasium was a busy place Dec. 16 as the Moose Jaw Thunder girls’ basketball club combined with a few guests to stage the Hoops 4 Hunger marathon.
Players took to the court for a total of 10 hours, raising $2,700 for Hunger in Moose Jaw
“It was great, it was spectacular. It was a pretty cool day,” said Thunder and Riverview Royals coach Curt Lorge. ““We did a Mother’s Day thing last year, so we were talking and the girls said they wanted to do something else. We came up with the Hoops 4 Hunger thing and one of the players’ moms works at Hunger in Moose Jaw and said they were always looking for someone to help them out.”
That set things motion, and a well-received fundraising campaign proved fruitful for the cause. But then there was the 10 hours of basketball still to play — something that wouldn’t be exactly easy for a handful of club and high school players.
“We had some parents suit up and had some alumni come out, (Moose Jaw Minor Basketball coach) Raman Mall had his boys club, the Ballers come out and play while we took a break and had some pizza... it was a real team effort and everyone had a lot of fun,” Lorge said.
“Of all the basketball days I’ve put in the gym, this was one of my favourites, I think.”
The community support went beyond the mere financial. Sponsors from Moose Jaw Co-Op and South Hill Fine Foods donated snacks and chocolate milk and Family Pizza donated a stack of pies for supper.
All in all, the event worked out even better than planned, which has Lorge looking for bigger and better things in the future.
“We plan to make it an annual thing. I want to see if we can fold in the rest of Moose Jaw basketball, get some elementary and high school teams and senior men’s and senior ladies league teams, maybe even go 24 hours,” he said. “It would be great if we could build it up and raise some money and even create a real community atmosphere.”