Port Alberni will have a chance to see some of the highest calibre girls’ high school basketball on Vancouver Island this weekend.
Alberni District Secondary School is hosting the AAA Island basketball championships at the ADSS gym from Thursday to Saturday.
There will be eight teams competing in the double knockout event.
The Armada, GP Vanier, Ballenas and Dover Bay are competing for the North Island.Claremont, Oak Bay, Spectrum and Stelly’s are representing the South Island. Claremont is ranked No. 4 in the B.C. AAA rankings.
After the tournament the top three teams will advance to the provincial championships in the Lower Mainland.
The Armada open against Oak Bay on Thursday at 8:30 p.m.
The event costs several thousand dollars to host and is largely being underwritten with entry fees, tournament co-ordinator Brian Laviolette said.
Local businesses are still recovering from the recession and donation fatigue and will be a last resort for help.
“Our job isn’t so much to make a profit as it is not to lose money,” Laviolette said. “We’re trying hard not to go to anyone for money.”
A concession is being operated with the proceeds going to the ADSS Rugby Club.
ADSS last went to the AAA Island basketball championships in 2009.
They’ve won the tournament three times in 55 years, the last time being in 1987.
Alberni last hosted the event in 2001.
Armada alumni and former college standout Krystal Hawksworth competed in that event.
reporter@albernivalleynews.com