Swish needs volunteers

Getting ready for Swish

By Mike Weland

The third-annual Bonners Ferry Swish three-on-three basketball tournament is still a month away, and first-time tournament director Brad Holifield has been losing sleep and learning what two-time director Brett Brown learned early on … there are a million details!

Fortunately, Brett is now on the Swish board, and able to tell Brad that no matter how harrying it gets, it always comes together come game day.

During Monday's Swish meeting, Brad was worried there wouldn't be enough volunteers, might be too many teams or could be too few.

The three heavy-duty backboards Swish purchased to bring community basketball back to the fairgrounds slab, he reported, have all been painted and they're on their way to Fleet Graphics for the final touches before they're installed later this summer, with all appropriate hoop-la.

Will we have enough T-shirts … how about sponsors? Will we have enough professional refs on hand this year to handle enough of the brackets?

Are we going to have electricity at headquarters?

Then there's the complicated matter of readying the brackets, and getting game times and teams out where people and players can see them … are we going to have enough people to set up and take down the backboards and hoops?

Halfway through the litany, Brett suffered a fit of giggles, nearly choking on a chicken strip.

“I tried to tell you it gets exciting,” he said.

Despite the many irons Brad is juggling, members of the board did their best to ease his concerns … but the careful observer could see that Brad's still going to have a few sleepless nights between now and July 31, when Swish takes to the streets of Bonners Ferry.

And he probably won't sleep that entire weekend.

But by all accounts, he's going to be able to get a restful night's sleep Sunday, to wake up Monday morning basking in the glow of another successful event.

Currently, 66 people have signed up to help during the event,  but more than a hundred are needed. Board member Ron Sukenik, who's been there since the Swish began in 2007, gave him assurance that when the time came, the people of the community would step up and get the job done.

That first year, 66 teams participated in the event, more than 40 of them from Boundary County. Last year, there were 77 teams, with players coming in from Libby, Troy, Sandpoint and further.

“Can we handle more?” Holifield asked, again to strong reassurance that yes, they could.

“You're doing great!” they concurred. “You build it, they'll come!”

When game day gets here, 20 courts will run down Main Street and athletes from throughout the region will be giving their all, cheered on by their own entourage as well as the good folks of the community. There'll be two Air Castles set up for the kids, and headquarters, the old Hot Rod Guys & Gals building at the corner of Main and Second Streets, will be humming.

“It's not going to be a hoop-fest,” Sukenik said, “but it's going to be a lot of fun.”

Registration is $70 per team, and early deadline registrations must be postmarked by July 19. After that date, the cost of registration goes up to $90. Registration brochures are available at businesses throughout the county and on-line at http://www.bfswish.com. Registrations should be sent to Bonners Ferry Swish, P.O. Box X, Bonners Ferry, ID 83805.You can also register by calling Michelle Barker at (208) 660-2447.

There is no deadline for volunteers, but the earlier you can sign up, the more rest Brad will get.

They'll be needing help in a range of areas, including court monitors, coordinators, scorekeepers and court runners. If you'd like to be part of the excitement, call Collet Allen, (208) 267-8130, or Jan Klopfenstein, (208) 304-4572.

If you have good news or just need more information, you can also call Brad to find out more, (208) 946-3843, but please, whatever you do, don't add to his list of worries. He's going to have to get SOME sleep before July 31.