This year marked number 65 in the tournament’s history, with a total of 62 teams coming from throughout British Columbia and parts of Alaska. The tournament continues to be a focal point around the Northwest region, with a sense of stability among those who run it. And that includes Eva Spencer, who is one of 12 people on the All Native Board Committee.
“We’re a committee of 12 people and we’ve been together for quite some time now,” said Spencer. “It just makes it way easier, everyone has their own portfolio per say. For example, the judges, scorekeepers, security and all the other positions involved in this tournament committee, every person in the committee has their own position. When everyone’s position is done, the tournament is ready to go. And then it’s the volunteers who make this a success, and we have mostly the same volunteers every year, which makes it look like it’s easy to run the tournament because we all have teamwork together.”
For the North Coast, this is a reliable event to improve the local economy as well, where hospitality sees a steady bump in business.
“This is like a second Christmas to Prince Rupert,” said Spencer. “All the hotels and restaurants are full.”
For Mayor of Prince Rupert, Herb Pond, having a reliable, reoccurring event is always good for a community that is far away from many different cities. Pond notes that unity is part of the beauty of this tournament, and Pond notes that sports is not all about scores and plays on the court.
“The event keeps getting bigger, as much as they can grow it,” Pond has is now on his second foray as Mayor, which he started in 2022. “I was at the opening ceremonies, and it was just heartwarming to see these teams come piling in from all around the province and from Alaska. So up and down the coast, all these communities bring their culture and the game of basketball. But of course, it’s so much more than basketball. Kitkatla (Gitxaala) stepped up, they were the drummers, singers and dancers in the opening ceremony. Each team has slightly different cultures, they’re not all the same, but to see them come together and express it - is just stunning.”
With this being a week-long tournament with high demand, it has now become a part of entertainment in the Northwest. Hundreds of supporters show up to both courts at the Jim Ciccone Civic Centre during the middle of the week, ready to show their passion.
Canadian politician Ellis Ross also participated in the tournament, who coached his team from Kitimat. The team started the tournament 1-0, after not playing together for over 20 years.
“There’s a lot of friendly people here,” said Ross. “A lot of happy people, you have a loud crowd cheering for their home team. You have the arts and crafts centre, you’ve got food, you have all the booths set up in the gymnasium. I’ve never come here and had a negative experience here in my life.”