Just For The Fun Of It

http://

With only 41 Sleeps before Registration Day 2019 – Saturday September 7, 2019 – we thought it would be appropriate to publish our answers to frequently asked questions about registration. 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, 2020.

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 5:30 pm (3 games a night in one hour time slots), and all other divisions start at 6 pm with four games in 45 minute time slots.
2) I am going to be out of town on September 7 and you have no on line registration. How do I get my child registered?
Answer: If you are going to be away September 7 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. The only exception to this rule is if you are an assistant for that 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 19 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), through the web site or Facebook page. We will likely have a waiting list in each division of players that want to play, and a 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?
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. This year we will also have special shooting clinics for players the week after evaluation night. In the week after the coaches meeting (September 23-26) there will be one practice with your team on the same game nights and time slots outlined in question one above.

It is hard to believe, but Registration for the 2019-2020 season, our 65th season of operation, is ONLY 63 sleeps away. That should really be 62 1/2 sleeps because the last one will be a short one! In case you missed it, here are the details:

When: Saturday September 7, 2019

Where: St Francis of Assisi Catholic School

Time: 9 -10:30 am

Cost: $10 for the season

Ages: Girls 8-14; Boys 8-15 – all ages are the age the player will be on April 1, 2020.

Game Nights: 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

There is no pre-registration or on line registration. Registration is first come, first served.

Wondering what to wear around town to shade your eyes and keep the sun off the top of your head this summer? Looking for that really early stocking stuffer for Christmas for a current or former player? Want to support the league? We now have caps available in adult and youth sizes for only $15. If you can’t wait for registration contact us at roland.billings@sympatico.ca to arrange getting one now!

Don “Pete” Petersen Spirit Award Winners Announced
It is fitting that today the 2019 recipients of the Don “Pete” Petersen Spirit Award Winners are being announced by his family. Here is the posting from the Award Facebook page.
“Five years have passed, but your basketball dream still holds strong!
Congratulations to this years recipients of the Don “PETE” Petersen Spirit Memorial Award: Zoe McAuley, Miles Brackenbury, Megan Major-Thompson, and Colin Bowman. Four excellent examples of past players and volunteers making a difference in the lives of others in our community today and the future of tomorrow.
Congratulations!”
I could not agree with their comments more. Zoe, Miles, Megan and Colin are perfect examples of players from Pete’s league that have selflessly given their time for many years to make our league, and our community a better place. All of us are very proud to have you as members of the league family. Wherever your studies take you, know that if your journey brings you back to Kingston we will welcome you home.

On July 3, 2014 Don Petersen passed away. His passing left a hole in the hearts of many in our community because we lost a mentor, a friend, a family member, a sounding board, a neighbour and a leader. He was a devout man of deep religious convictions, but was also a humble man that believed in the goodness of people. He was simply a good and decent man that was loved by all that came to know him. Sixty five years ago this fall he started a small basketball program for the children at St. Pat’s and in the neighbourhood around the school – his neighbourhood. He was 17 years old at the time. Let that last statement sink in. He was 17 years old at the time he started the program that became what we have today. A league with more than 500 participants annually with more than 100 volunteers counted in that number, providing a safe environment where children now in our greater community can still have a safe place to learn how much fun the game of basketball can be. We owe Don “Pete” Petersen a debt of gratitude that can best be paid by continuing to try and live up to his vision and his legacy. As our banner says – “It started with the dream of one man”. Thanks for having that dream Don.

We miss him for his wit, his laugh, his hugs and handshakes, and his advice. I came across a quote from Dr Suess this spring. It said “Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.” May any of you that knew Don Petersen remember that quote today, and every time you think of the man we knew as Pete.

This week the installation of new 4 inch foam padding was completed along the entire north wall of the gym at Ecole Cathedrale. This project completes the padding of both ends of the gym started last season by the league, and supported by the school and the ALCDSB. The padding will increase player safety for our athletes and for those at the school. Our thanks to David DeSantis, Nienke Hodemann and Leah Neff from the board for their unwavering support of what we proposed, to the staff at the school for working around the installation schedule, and to Mario and the installation crew from Sports Systems Canada for making the wall padding a reality. Here are the before and after photos of the north end padding completed this week

.

Today we learned that Katie Spicer was the recipient of the Don Pete Petersen Award at the Regiopolis Graduation. Set up the ALCDSB in honour of Don Petersen many years ago, the award recognizes a graduating student within the board that has made a contribution to the basketball league. Katie was a volunteer with us for many years and we are very happy to see her be recognized by the board and the school. Katie plans on attending St. Lawrence in the fall so hopefully her schedule will allow her to continue making a difference in our community either with us, or some other local organization that will be as glad to have her as we have been.

What a great day today for the annual Pete Petersen Memorial Golf Tournament! Our thanks to the efforts of the league committee in planning the details of the event, the great co-operation of the Amherstview golf club ownership and staff in hosting the event, and the enthusiasm of the 89 golfers that participated. Today $3313 was raised to help cover the cost of league operations for next season. A special shout out too to Nikki Irwin for taking photos around the course today. We appreciate the support of so many people and businesses that allow us to continue to give the children in our community the opportunity to safely learn how much fun the game of basketball can be, just as Pete intended.

With all the excitement around the Toronto Raptors, you may have forgotten to enter your team for the upcoming Pete Petersen Memorial Golf Tournament on Friday June 21st at the Amherstview Golf Club. Don’t worry! We are still taking teams up until Friday June 14th. To enter please contact Rick Hollywood at 613-539-6765 rhollywood29@gmail.com or Pat Adams at 613-770-2265 – padams66@hotmail.ca. Cost is $100 per player and includes green fees, a shared cart, meal and prize table and fees must be paid by June 14th to secure your place in the tournament.

If you would just like to join us for the meal, the cost is $20, and also must be confirmed by June 14th.

See you there!