Just For The Fun Of It

I have been getting inquiries about the date and details of registration for this season. Below is the ad that will appear in the Whig Standard Fall Activity Guide.

Knights of Columbus
Basketball League
Registration 2014
Saturday September 6, 2014
9:00 – 10:30 AM
St. Pat’s School – 158 Patrick Street
Boys 8-15; Girls 8-14
All ages as of April 1, 2015

No Pre-registration
Space is Limited

Registration fee $10.00 per player
Birth certificate or other document for proof of age is required for registration
Game nights for the 2014-2015 season are:
Girls 8-10 – Thursday, Girls 11-14 Wednesday, Boys 8-10 Tuesday, Boys 11-12 Monday,
Boys 13-15 Monday (at Ecole Cathedrale)
Celebrating 60 Years of Basketball
“Just for the fun of it”
For more information visit our web site at www.justforthefunofit.ca
or follow us on Facebook
If you are at registration overnight please stay quiet out of respect for our neighbours

With just a few weeks to go before registration on September 6, here are answers to two more frequently asked questions. We will put more on the page throughout this week.

Question: I have heard that you have to be at the school at 4 am to get signed up is that true? Answer: No. In the past there have been some hardy souls that camped out overnight to be the first in line but that has not been the case for a number of years. We do recommend that you get there early, and we will make sure that the school is open as soon as possible to give those in line access to the washroom facilities. As you line up we ask that you remain orderly and take the chance to get to know some of the other parents in the league.

Question: What are the age cut off dates between divisions? Answer: The ages for all of our divisions this season is the age that the player will be on April 1, 2015.

Below is one of the most common questions that we get asked around registration time.
Question: “What if we are not in town that weekend?
Can we register earlier or another way?”

Answer: There is no pre registration, but someone else can register your player for you if you are away on September 6. They will need to know the player name, contact information and bring proof of age for the player (if possible). If they can’t bring proof of age, we will still need to know the date of birth to get them registered in the right division. They should also have the $10 registration fee. A copy of the permission form will then be given to the person registering for you to be completed and brought to the evaluation night practice. Registration forms can only be signed by the player’s parent or guardian. Members of the league executive cannot do this for you so please do not ask.

More frequently asked questions will be covered this coming week.

More vintage photos have been added to our Facebook page for your enjoyment. Next week we will post some answers to frequently asked questions that have come up about registration.

The latest round of vintage photos from the league are now posted on our Facebook page for your enjoyment. We are posting these as part of our 60th anniversary celebrations that will be centred around the week of November 3-8 this season. Keep watching the web site and Facebook page for more details.

The following letter from Mark Potter appeared in the Kingston Whig Standard today, July 22.

‘Pete’ Petersen, an honourable man

Kingston has lost one of its finest citizens with the recent passing of Don ‘Pete’ Petersen. Pete had such a positive influence on the lives of thousands of kids during his almost 60 years as the guiding force of the Knights of Columbus Basketball League. He did it for the love of others and to put a smile on a kid’s face, never for recognition, but I would like to share a secret that Pete only shared with a few close friends and family members.

In 2005, he received a letter from the Governor General of Canada indicating he had been named to the Order of Canada and was invited to Rideau Hall to be recognized with the highest honour any Canada citizen can receive for service to their fellow citizens. Remarkably, he turned it down. While he was humbled, Pete wrote back to the Governor General saying he felt his work with kids through sports was “no big deal” and “he had more fun than the kids did.” He didn’t want the “fuss” that would come with it and respectfully declined.

That one act tells you all you need to know about the man Pete was, why he did what he did, and why he is held in such high regard by all who had the privilege of knowing him. Kingston is a better place through his many acts of kindness to our youth.

Mark Potter, Kingston

As you visit our league web site you will see that we have a new banner on the home page that is a tribute to Don “Pete” Petersen, the founder of our league. We would like to thank John Moore and his iStorm team of Cory Firth and Vincent Cinanni for turning the proposed concept into the reality that you will see at the web site. John and iStorm have partnered with us since the beginning of last season to make improvements to our web site scheduling module and other site upgrades, and that support is greatly appreciated.

I got a message this week from Matthew Vierimaa, the Queen’s Graduate student that was involved with a project with the league last season. He presented at the National Coaching Conference in Washington DC and he reports that it went well, and the research that was presented was well-received, which was both encouraging and satisfying. There was a general consensus that what the league is trying to accomplish is extremely important but lacking in the general youth sport landscape. For clarity on the last point Matthew said, “at the conference, it became evident that the majority of youth sport programming in the US is heavily focused on early specialization and high performance, even at a young age. Based on some of the responses I received, it seems that sport programs that are accessible to a wide range of youth (in terms of both skill level and socio-economic status) are severely lacking. In that regard, I think that the league provides a very fascinating and admirable model since it tends to attract such a diverse group of youth to the program and sport.” Matthew is hoping to come back to the league again next season to continue his research work. He and his colleagues have been very happy with the cooperation that the league has shown to support the research efforts of the university.

The second round of vintage Knights of Columbus Basketball League photos have been posted on the league Facebook page. make sure to have a look at the faces from the history of the league that Pete built.

Registration day is a mere 54 days away! No need to panic just yet. We will keep you updated as we get closer to the date – Saturday September 6, 2014, St. Pat’s School, 158 Patrick Street. 9-10:30. Boys 8-15; Girls 8-14. All ages are the age that the player will be on April 1, 2015. No Pre registration. Cost for the season remains at $10. Game nights for this season: Graduate boys (13-15) Monday night at Ecole Cathedrale; Biddy Boys (11-12) Monday night at St. Pat’s; Little Guys (boys 8-10) Tuesday night at St. Pat’s; Girl’s Division (11-14) Wednesday night at St. Pat’s; Little Gals Division (8-10) Thursday night at St. Pat’s. This season marks the 60th season for the league and we are excited about celebrating this milestone year for the league that Pete built.