The day we have all been waiting for since March is one short sleep away! Saturday September 6 is registration day, and details are below.
The weather forecast calls for a 40% chance of a light shower so please dress accordingly.
Special T shirts for this season will be available for purchase at $15 for short sleeved and $20 for long sleeve, and we will have Sneaker Draw tickets also available for purchase.
All transactions at registration are cash or cheque only.
This year we continue our tradition of offering a specially designed T shirt that will be available for sale starting Registration Day, with sales resuming from opening night until Monday October 20. The cost this year remains the same as it has been for many years, with short sleeve shirts available for $15 and long sleeve $20. These are cash or cheque purchases only. Should we run out of your size we will take your details and be placing a special order for delivery before we shut down in December. We hope you like our proud Canadian design this year.
For those of you that would like to purchase other clothing items as well, we encourage you to visit our on line store at the Acme Sport and Promotions web site where you can order 70th Anniversary hoodies and polo shirts, league logo hoodies, polo shirts, quarter zip sweatshirts, hats, toques, and jackets. The store will be open now until October 13, with orders available for pick up from Acme in early November. Ordering is simple, and we want to thank George Merjevac and Acme for the work they did with us to set up the store, and with our T shirt order again this year.
This morning I received an email from Sarah Ross, Assistant Women’s Volleyball Coach at Queen’s University, asking if we would be willing to accept a donation of gently used shoes from the team. Bridgette Mulholland, Assistant Coach for the Queen’s Women’s Basketball Team, and a former player in our program, had told Sarah about what we do, and the shoe donation the basketball team had made in the spring.
This afternoon Sarah, and the Head Women’s Volleyball Coach Shanice Marcelle delivered 23 pairs of shoes to us for use by our players as needed next season.
Our sincere thanks to Shanice and Sarah for believing in what we do for the children in our community. You are difference makers, and you should be VERY proud of that.
I will be publishing the Queen’s basketball and volleyball schedules in the coming weeks, as well as the St. Lawrence basketball schedules so you have the chance to support the teams and schools that have supported us. Roland
With less than two weeks to go before Registration Day 2025 (Saturday September 6), we thought it would be good to republish our list of Frequently asked questions, our registration poster and where we will be entering the school for registration again this year. Please contact us if there are questions you have that may not be answered here. Please note that all ages referenced are the age that the child will be on April 1, 2026.
1) What are the game nights for the upcoming season? Answer: Monday Nights – Biddy Division (boys 11-12) at St. Francis of Assisi; Graduate Division (boys 13-15) at Ecole Cathedrale; Tuesday Nights- Little Guys Division (boys 8-10) at St. Francis of Assisi; Wednesday Nights – Girls Division (Girls 11-14) at St. Francis of Assisi; Thursday Nights- Little Gals Division (girls 8-10) at St. Francis of Assisi. Graduate games start at 6:00 pm (3 games a night in one hour time slots), and all other divisions start at 6:00 pm with four games in 45 minute time slots.
2) I am going to be out of town on Registration Day and you have no on line registration. How do I get my child registered?
Answer: If you are going to be away on Registration Day you can get someone else to start the registration process for you. They will need the name, date of birth, contact phone numbers, address and e mail address (if applicable) for your player, along with the $10 registration fee. They will be given a copy of the registration form that you will need to sign and bring with you to the player evaluation night. We must have a signed registration form before your child can participate in league activities. PLEASE DO NOT ASK MEMBERS OF OUR LEAGUE EXECUTIVE TO REGISTER YOUR CHILD FOR YOU. We are very busy on registration day looking after other details of the process.
2 a) Why don’t you have on line registration like other leagues? Answer: Having in person, first come, first served registration equalizes the opportunity for everyone in the community. We allow someone else to register your child as long as you make those arrangements, as a concession to those that may need to be unavailable at registration time due to work or other commitments.
3) Can we request to be on the same team as another player?
Answer: Due to the large number of requests we receive each year, and our growing number of registrations, we can no longer assure you that player pairing requests will be granted, with the exception of siblings in the same age group, and where a DEFINITE need to ride together has been established and communicated. It has been overwhelming for our volunteers to accommodate these large number of requests while trying to build fair and balanced teams. We believe that this approach keeps us in line with the practice of most other youth organizations. We see our program as a great opportunity for family members and players to meet new friends and neighbours from across our community, establishing friendships that may last for years to come.
4) Can we request to be on a specific coach’s team?
Answer: No, you may not request a coach.
5) What happens if I miss the player evaluation night? Will my child be “cut” from the program?
Answer: While we hope that all players come out for evaluation night, no one that is registered will be “cut”. All will be placed on a team, and you will be notified what team, and the team practice time in the days following our September 17 coaches meeting.
6) What do I do if I find out that my child has a conflict with another activity or decides they don’t want to play this season?
Answer: Please notify us as soon as possible by e mail (roland.billings@sympatico.ca), by phone (613 548-8790), or message through the web site or Facebook page. We will likely have a waiting list in each division of players that want to play, and an early decision on your part will get one of them into the league.
7) How often will there be practices and what time of day will they be held?
Answer: In each division there will be one evaluation night practice in the week after registration following the schedule distributed at registration and that will be published here after registration day. In the week after the coaches meeting (September 22-25) there will be one practice with your team on the same game nights and time slots outlined in question one above. Once games begin there are no more practices.
8) What player medical condition details do you need for my player?
Answer: We need as much detail as possible on the registration form to help us make sure convenors and coaches are aware of potential issues. All allergies, as well as any medical diagnosis and / or behaviours that could impact their participation need to be disclosed to us. While all are welcome in the league, we are only looking to better understand the needs of our players, and create a more successful time for each player to help ensure a positive experience for all participants and volunteers involved.
We are both thrilled and excited to be officially launching today the Pete Petersen Basketball League On Line Store! We have been working with George Merjevac at ACME Sport and Promotions to set up an on line store through their web site with items we are frequently asked to sell in person at the gyms. The link to the store is below so we encourage you to have a look and place your order! here is how it works:
The store will be open from now until October 13. We plan to reopen the store for the first two weeks of January as well.
Orders will be completed within three weeks following the store closing.
You will be notified by email when your order is complete. Orders must be picked up at Acme Sport and Promotion on Railway Street. Shipping within Canada is available at an additional charge.
Sizing charts and how to measure guides are available for each item.
A variety of colours are available in most items and can be previewed once you press the colour option and the select button.
Payment must be made when you order online.
Our annual special edition T shirt sales will be handled as we have in the past with sales starting at Registration Day 2025 and special orders completed in November if we run out of your size.Payment for t shirts is cash or cheque. We will preview the t shirt design for this season during the lead up to registration.
Here is the link to the online store thanks to our partners at ACME Sport and Promotions – Happy Shopping!!
https://www.superacme.ca/pete-petersen-basketball-league-online-store/
We are happy to let you know that we will be adding seven new sets of uniforms to the league this season thanks to your support of our Sneaker Draw and 50/50 ticket sales. We are limited in what we can use the funds raised through these two draws for and uniform purchase is one of the approved uses.
We are replacing all six sets of uniforms in the Graduate Division for this season and replacing the Hawks with the Thunder as a new team. Here is a preview of what the new Graduate uniforms will look like on opening night.
In the Girls Division we are thrilled to announce the addition of the Tempo to our teams in that group. With the Toronto Tempo joining the WNBA next season we wanted to enthusiastically support that announcement and what this means for the growth of women’s sports in Canada. Here is the Girls Division Tempo uniform design that will make their Pete Petersen Basketball League debut on opening night , October 1st.
Our thanks to George Merjevac and the staff at Acme Sport and Promotion for their help and assistance through the summer to make this happen and so much more to support what we do each season.
Yesterday marked the last day that players could get piercings and be able to safely take them out before the start of the season, so if you are planning on getting new piercings, please wait until March when the season is over. Players must be able to take out the jewellery associated with the piercings and documented recommendations is that this can’t happen for 6 – 8 weeks after the jewellery goes in. The most common question we are asked is this : “Can I just tape over it?” and the answer to that is a very simple “No.”
We want to clarify the basketball rules regarding jewellery and splints for all participants.
Jewellery may not be worn because of the risk it poses to the player or another participant. This includes earrings, nose rings or studs, eyebrow piercings or any other piercings. Also included are watches, rings, bracelets, barrettes and hats.
Splints made of metal or hard and unyielding plastic are also not permitted as are casts on hands and forearms. Some knee and elbow braces with metal or hard plastic hinges may need to be taped over or covered so that the hinges do not poe a hazard to other players.
These are common sense precautions to help ensure the safety of all participants, and allow us all to enjoy the upcoming season. Please review this note as a family so that your players also understand the rules that must be uniformly applied.
We are thrilled to announce that we will be returning to Five Guys Burgers and Fries on Gardiners Road for our annual Dine and Make a Difference event on Wednesday October 15th! This has been a great partnership over the years and we are very grateful to Joey Pearson, and the local Five Guys Leadership and staff for once again hosting our league families in what is always a fun evening of socializing and great food. Here are the details – from 5:00 until 8:30 pm on October 15th $1 from every burger, poutine and milkshake sold will come back to the league. That gives you a few days after Thanksgiving to work through the leftovers and get yourself ready for delicious burgers and poutine, topped off with a fantastic milkshake selection! Thank you Five Guys for believing in what we do, and for making a difference in the lives of our players and their families!
We will be sending out reminders in the weeks ahead, but here are some photos from the 2024 event.
