Hello there basketball enthusiasts, 

 

My name is Eileen Gullion.

  

I hope you all are enjoying what is left of the long weekend.  I imagine most of you are starting your evaluations this week to create your basketball teams for the 2018-2019 basketball season.  I know…crazy time of year for everyone.  Trust me, I have been in your shoes.  I did exactly this in 2007 as the varsity Basketball Coordinator.

 

This year I am coordinating the 12th annual Jessica Thiedemann Tournament (JTT). This tournament is a great opportunity for your community to give your teams additional practice time in a game and tournament environment.  Even if you have not completely confirmed players to teams, this tourney would give you a unique way to evaluate/tweak and/or decide if some of your players need to move up or down on your rosters.  While at the same time you would be helping CMBA ‘train and tweak’ our rookies, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th year officials.  These are the officials that will be officiating your games this year.

 

OH! And there is one more opportunity for all of us!  By participating in JTT you would be bringing increased awareness to childhood cancers, or any cancers for that matter.  I am sure that we all have been affected by cancer, either through a family member,  grand-parents, uncle, aunt, friend, co-worker, classmate….the list goes on.  It affects us all.

  

This tournament is dedicated to a young official who passed away from cancer at the age of 19 years (please take a minute to read the attachment regarding this remarkable young women).

 

Eileen Gullion here. With only 2 weeks until the Jessica Thiedemann Tournament (JTT), I am sending out a reminder to register your teams! The tournament is being held at Lester B Pearson and Lord Beaverbrook on the evening of Friday September 28, 2018 and all day Sunday September 30, 2018.

 

I realize most of you may still be evaluating your teams, so this is a great opportunity for some extra gym time in a real-game environment! The full games will be officiated by up-and-coming officials along with the support of seasoned mentors. You can expect a minimum of two games per team (possibly more!). We are looking for:

 

• Bantam Boys & Girls - levels 3, 4, and 5 to play on Friday and Sunday, and

• Midget Boys & Girls - levels 3, 4, and 5 to play on Sunday.

 

Most importantly, this tournament is to honour Jessica Thiedemann, a courageous young woman who lost her battle with cancer at a very young age. Jessica left a lasting mark on the Calgary Minor Basketball community through her talent and leadership on the court as an official and amongst her peers. There will be a tribute and bursary presentation on Sunday at both locations.

 

With all that being said, these are your next steps:

 

• Contact me to register your teams, and

• Send your $100 per team tournament fee to the CMBA office no later than Monday September 24, 2018.

 

Let me know if you have any questions. I look forward to hearing from you!

 

Cheers,

 

Eileen Gullion 

E: egullion@telus.net

C: (403) 615-7761

Sent from my iPad