By Brad Gischia
Beacon Correspondent
Mark your calendars for a day of basketball at the Manistique High School gym.
The 24th annual Yooper Hoopers Basketball Tournament will take place April 11.
Each year the tournament is put on to benefit students as a fundraiser for events
like prom or other senior activities.
“This year the fundraising is for the Class of 2027,” said Tori Irving, who has been
working with the Yooper Hooper Tournament for the second year. “It will help pay
for their senior all-night party next year and their prom this year.”
The 3-on-3 tournament will run from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the gym.
“We like to think of it as a spring version of the Gus Macker,” Irving said. “We get
plenty of teams to fill the time slots.”
Those teams range in age from adults to as young as 10, Irving said.
Each team is allowed to have a total of four players, three on the court and one
backup on the bench.
Each participant gets a T-shirt.
“We have a lot of great business sponsors that help pay for the tournament,” Irving
said.
The list of sponsors is long: The Manistique Advisor, B&N Concrete, Big Boy,
Bowman Gas, Carmeuse, Smile Select, Family Pride Laundry, Flower by Jodi,
Graymont, Hidden Estates, IQ Designs, Manistique Oil, Nicolet Bank, Northern
Nursery, Plesscher Greenhouse, Putvin Drug Store, Schone’s Chiropractic,
Schoolcraft Memorial Hospital, Superior State Agency, Thompson’s Veterinary
Clinic and Wheaty’s Pub all support the Yooper Hooper Tournament.
Entry cost for each team is $100 and the majority of those funds go back to the
class.
Volunteers make all the difference when putting on an event like this.
“Everybody that’s there is volunteering,” Irving said. “From the scoring to the
referees to the concessions.”
Irving said that Yooper Hooper relies on approximately 50 adult and student
volunteers to keep the event in motion.
“We have around 180 timeslots that need to be filled throughout the day. That
comes out to roughly 360 hours of combined volunteer time,” Irving said.
There are many volunteers who cover multiple roles as the day progresses and can
cover many different aspects of the tournament.
“Referees can be managing four simultaneous courts, there are scorekeepers and
timekeepers, photographers, bracket updaters, raffle table attendants, admissions
staff, registration coordinators and concession stand crew,” Irving said. “Plus we
have set up and clean-up crews as well.”
There are always opportunities to volunteer. If you’re interested you can contact
the school.
Registration closes Wednesday, March 25. To register for the Yooper Hooper
Tournament, contact Manistique High School or go to their website,
manistiqueschools.org/yooper_hooper. You can also find information on the
Yooper Hooper Facebook page.
“This is months in the making,” Irving said. “We are incredibly grateful for
everyone’s continued commitment to this event and to our community.”