Holiday tournament bracket released

A December staple - the annual holiday basketball tournament - will debut in a new venue this year.

The Summerland Holiday Tournament, scheduled for Dec. 28 and 29, will be played at the Summerland School, at the intersection of 513 Avenue and Summerland Road.

In addition to the Bobcats, Tri County Northeast, West Holt and CWC will participate.

In the girls' division, the Tri County Northeast Wolfpack will square off against the West Holt Huskies on Wednesday, Dec. 28, at 3 p.m. The host team will face the CWC Renegades at 6 p.m.

The consolation matchup will tip off at 3 p.m., Dec. 29, with the championship game planned for a 6 p.m. start.

In the boys' division, Tri County Northeast will play West Holt at 4:30 p.m., Dec. 28. The Bobcats will battle CWC at 7:30 p.m.

A 4:30 start is planned for the boys' consolation game, Dec. 29. The championship game is slated to begin at 7:30 p.m.

Local and conferences passes will not be accepted for admission.

Tournament history

The annual roundball shootout was the brainchild of former Clearwater coach, Rick Hesse, who started coaching the Cardinals in 1976. The first teams to compete, in addition to Clearwater, were Chambers, Elgin and Ewing.

A girls' division was added in the 1978-1979 season.

Teams have been added to and removed from the lineup through the years, but the days of marathon basketball have been a staple.

The tournament has been canceled one time, although it has been pushed back a day or two, or start times bumped up, due to weather conditions.