Just For The Fun Of It

Registration for the 2024-25 season is now officially closed with the addition of our last waiting list person in the Little Gals Division.
All divisions are now full, as are our waiting lists, so we will not be taking any more names for this season. Our thanks to all of you in the league family and our community that continue to believe in what we do.

This week we will be having player evaluation practices in all divisions. It is important to make these sessions if at all possible so that we can create balanced teams. Please remember, these are not try outs. If you are registered you will be put on a team – no one is cut. ALL SESSIONS ARE AT ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI CATHOLIC SCHOOL.

Pete Petersen Basketball League
Player Evaluation Schedule
2024-2025

Biddy Division

Monday September 9

6:00-6:45 Registration Numbers 1-24
6:45-7:30 Registration Numbers 25-48
7:30-8:15 Registration Numbers 49-72
8:15-9:00 Registration Numbers 73-96

Graduate Division

SATURDAY September 14

10:00-10:45 Registration Numbers 1-30
10:45-11:30 Registration Numbers 31-60
11:30–12:15 Registration Numbers 61-90

Little Guys Division

Tuesday September 10

6:00-6:45 Registration Numbers 1-24
6:45-7:30 Registration Numbers 25-48
7:30-8:15 Registration Numbers 49-72
8:15-9:00 Registration Numbers 73-96

Girls Division

Wednesday September 11

6:00-6:45 Registration Numbers 1-24
6:45-7:30 Registration Numbers 25-48
7:30-8:15 Registration Numbers 49-72
8:15-9:00 Registration Numbers 73-96

Little Gals Division

Thursday September 12

6:00-6:45 Registration Numbers 1-24
6:45-7:30 Registration Numbers 25-48
7:30-8:15 Registration Numbers 49-72
8:15-9:00 Registration Numbers 73-96

Here is the status in each division following registration Saturday.

Little Guys Division- full and waiting list is full. We are not taking any more names for this season.

Biddy Division- full and waiting list is full. We are not taking any more names for this season.

Graduate Division- full and waiting list is full. We are not taking any more names for this season.

Girls Division- full and waiting list is full. We are not taking any more names for this season.

Little Gals Division- girls 8-10 as at April 1, 2025 We still have a few places on on the waiting list.

If you want to register your child for the Little Gals Division waiting list please send a message through Facebook so we can place players in order.

Our thanks to the volunteers and the league families that weathered some adverse weather conditions to make it possible to get us ready for our 70th season.

Registration Day 2024 – Saturday September 7, 2024– we thought it would be appropriate to publish our answers to frequently asked questions about registration again. 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, 2025. Registration is from 9-10:30 at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic School

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 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 18 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 ([email protected]), 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?
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 23-26) 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.

Because of renovation delays to the gym at Ecole Cathedrale, we will not be able to use the facility until some time in October. As a result, and working with the school administrations at St. Francis of Assisi and Ecole Cathedralé, as well as the school board, we have come up with the following plan to continue league operations.

Player evaluations in the Graduate Division will be held Saturday September 14 at St. Francis of Assisi according to the schedule that will be distributed at registration.

Graduate Division team practices will be held Saturday September 21 at St. Francis of Assisi between 10 am and 12:15 pm. The coaches will notify the players in which time slot they are scheduled to practise that day.

The first games of the Graduate Division season will be played at St. Francis of Assisi on Saturday September 28 at 10 am, 11 am and noon.

Games scheduled for Monday October 7th will be rescheduled to Monday December 16 at Ecole Cathedralé.

With no games scheduled October 14, this will give the renovation extra time to complete the job before we hope to resume the schedule Monday October 21st at Ecole Cathedralé.

We apologize for the inconvenience this may cause some families, but we hope that you will work with us to navigate this situation.

Yesterday we received a very generous donation from the Kingston and District Sports Hall of Fame in memory of Adrien “Tic” Langlois. Mr. Langlois was inducted into the KDSHF in 2019 as a builder in football and track and Field. I was lucky enough to have Mr Langlois as a teacher and as a football coach at KCVI, so I know the impact he had on countless lives during his teaching career. When contacted about a donation in Mr. Langlois’ memory, his son Paul did not hesitate in supporting the donation going to our program.

To the executive of the KDSHF and to Paul Langlois, his sisters and his extended family – thank you for believing in our program, and what we do for the children in our community. You have made a difference in the lives of our players, volunteers and their families.

Don’t forget that registration for the 2024-25 season nis less than two weeks away! Saturday September 7, 2024 at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic School, 9-10:30 am. Cost for the season is still ONLY $10. More details, and answers to frequently asked questions can be found in previous posts and on our events tab here on the web site.

I was very saddened today to learn of the closure of the two CORUS Entertainment Radio Stations, and the closure of CKWS Television with the exception of less than a handful of people to, as CORUS put it in a statement “to cover breaking news of interest to Canadians”. My heart goes out to all those affected – both the on air personalities as well as the technical staff that make the events happen. My personal thanks to all of you for your lifetime commitment to making a difference in the lives of those around you in our city and the region. We all can be saddened by the outcome while still understanding the desperate financial situation GLOBAL finds themselves in.

My next reaction was a deep concern for our community, because these businesses REALLY were making a difference every year through their driving the Clothes for Kids Campaign, the Easter Seals campaign, and telling us nightly about the larger United Way Campaign, The Salvation Army Christmas Kettle and Christmas Hamper Campaigns, and all of the fund raising walks, golf, baseball and hockey tournaments. Thank you for shining a light on those organizations. I have been involved with some of those, along with sports organizations that relied on radio, television and print media to help “get the word out”.

I then get nostalgic for the way we were as a community for so much of my life, with strong and committed sports reporters. We had the nightly presence of Max Jackson and his sign off every night of “Remember, if you can’t play a sport, be one” that became engrained in our community personality. Doug Jeffries welcoming us with his “Good Evening”, as he shone his light into the corners of the sports community, to Mike Postovit’s “and that’s your look at sports” sign off after keeping us up to date. Those voices in print and television in Kingston have been silenced, and that is sad. The features on the passing of local people in the community and in sports were featured nightly, and gave us more background on their lives. We learned about milestones in organizations, registrations, playoff wins at so many levels, in so many sports, and for so many years. The light that CKWS and the radio stations shone in the corners of our community has been extinguished.

I have seen the sports guys and the news videographers hauling the equipment around to do interviews all over the city without any real outward complaint, because I know they loved what they did. Any of us that have been on the receiving end of a story or an interview, owe all of you so very much. July 18, 2024 will be remembered by all of you directly affected as a profoundly sad day. For all of us whose lives you positively affected over the years, we are so very grateful for the joy you brought into our homes and or lives every day. You became not just a part of our routine listening and viewing. You became a part of our family, and you were the fabric that bound our community together. THANK YOU! RWB

With only 61 Sleeps before Registration Day 2024 – Saturday September 7, 2024– 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, 2025.

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 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 18 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 ([email protected]), 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?
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 23-26) 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.

Yesterday we had our golf tournament in support of the league operations and it was a great day for all involved. A total of 86 golfers took part in the event hosted by the Amherstview Golf and Country Club to enjoy a day of great fun, food, prizes and camaraderie on the course and in the clubhouse. There were many businesses that were extremely generous with their prize donations, and as soon as we have that list finalized, we will publish the list of donors here. Our thanks to the club for being such good hosts, and to Rick Hollywood, Heather Hollywood, Gloria DeMatos and Rob VanHeddegem for organizing the event and procuring prizes, and to Lyndsey Hawkins and Jackie Paterson for helping set up the prize table and look after the special draw. At the end of the day, $2820 was raised, and that will go a long way to helping cover our costs for the upcoming season. Well done everyone!