For the past five years the senior boys’ basketball teams at Yorkton’s two high schools - the Regional and Sacred Heart - have set aside their differences to co-host a 12-team, two-day basketball tournament.
That tradition continues this weekend when the sixth annual York City Classic basketball tournament gets underway, with the Raiders taking on Lumsden at noon at the YRHS while the Saints will take on Weyburn in their first game of the competition.
The two head coaches of the programs - Jason Payne at the YRHS and Sacred Heart’s Garrett Karcha - feel that the 2016 edition of the tournament will be highly competitive. “It’s going to be another competitive field with probably the top 4A and a top three 5A team competing,” said the YRHS head coach. “It’s going to be some really high quality competition.”
Sacred Heart’s Karcha agreed with his Regional counterpart, saying: “We’re excited for this tournament because there will be 12 teams and some of them will be some of the top teams in the province.”
Joining the Raiders and Saints will be teams from all across the province, including the defending 4A provincial champion Melfort Comets and the Prince Albert- St. Mary Marauders, who are one of the top ranked 5A teams in the province. “St. Mary has been very competitive at the same level as those top teams,” said coach Payne on the team that be believes will be the class of the field this weekend. “They just lost in overtime in Saskatoon to St. Joseph who is the top Saskatoon team and talent wise, we’ll see a lot of similarities between St. Mary and Leboldus, a team we just played in Regina last week.”
Other teams that will travel to Yorkton this weekend are Lumsden, Weyburn, Estevan, Moose Jaw – Vanier, Prince Albert – Carleton, Melville, Swift Current and North Battleford Comprehensive.
The Raiders carry a six game tournament winning streak into the York City Classic, while the Saints are coming off their highest scoring game of the season, an 82-59 win over Kamsack.
As has been the case in recent years, all money raised at the York City Classic will go towards a good cause.
In previous years the two schools donated all money raised to the Canadian Cancer Society, however this year the money will be donated to the family of YRHS student Chad Young, so that they can more easily afford the expensive trips to and from Toronto for Chad’s cancer treatments. “This year we’re raising money for the Young family, whose son is a student at our school and who is dealing with some health issues,” said Payne. “We’re donating the gate in their name to help offset the costs when they’re in Toronto for treatments so it would certainly help if we could get a good crowd out for the games.”
The Saints will also be donating all money raised at Sacred Heart to the Young family. Admission at the gate at both schools will be five dollars with any and all donations being accepted.
