Girls battle for Surrey bragging rights

After a dozen years of hosting Surrey’s premier female high school sports  event, the Surrey Firefighters are still amazed by the kids who suit up for  their annual Goodwill Basketball Classic.

One of the features of the tournament, which runs from Jan. 8 to 12 this year  at Lord Tweedsmuir Secondary, is the eight scholarships awarded each year to  participants who not only stand out on the basketball court, but in the  classroom and in the community as well. This year the firefighters have allotted  $5,000 for the scholarships.

Todd Schierling, the treasurer for the Surrey Fire Fighters Association Local  1271, said the panel that selects the scholarship winners has a tough time every  year.

“The quality of the applications with all the things students are doing in  the community is really impressive,” he said. “It’s great to see the  humanitarian efforts that are being made by these student athletes and the time  they are committing to volunteerism in the community. We’re always happy to see  that but it makes it hard to make decisions when there are so many good  applicants.”

It turns out the scholarships aren’t the only application forms being filled  out by the basketball players. At the tournament awards ceremony each year,  tournament chair Nancy Innes, herself a former star basketball player at SFU,  addresses the players and talks about a future with the Surrey Fire  Department.”

Apparently, the players are listening. “We have a couple of former players  who have applied to become firefighters and they’re currently going through that  process,” said Holy Cross Crusaders coach Steve Beauchamp. “When Nancy talks to  the girls after the final game about career opportunities with the fire  department, the girls are listening closely. It’s great to see that they get a  bit of exposure to a career many women don’t consider. Seeing someone like Nancy  there and hearing her speak really connects with the players. It definitely  rings true with the girls.”

The tournament will feature 20 teams this year competing in two divisions.  Twelve teams will compete in the Ladder Division with eight more pooled together  in the elite Axe Division.

The Crusaders are the clear favourites to win their third straight Goodwill  Axe division title this year. Holy Cross is ranked No. 1 in the province among  class AA schools but should be challenged by strong teams from Fleetwood Park  and Panorama Ridge.

“This tournament has always been a big deal at our school,” Beauchamp said.  “The amount of effort, energy and resources the firefighters put into it makes  it a special tournament for the girls. It’s the first tournament after the  Christmas break and you’re playing against all of the teams from Surrey so there  are some bragging rights involved.

“The girls love to be a part of this tournament and because there are only a  couple of other AA teams involved, most of the games are against AAA schools so  it’s a good test for the girls.”

For more information, log onto www. surreyfirefighters.com/basketball.

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