The Boys and Girls Club of Lawrence and the Lawrence After School Program combined forces to host the fourth annual Boys and Girls Club Basketball Tournament Saturday morning at Southwest Junior High. Seven teams competed in the tournament, which is the culmination of a regular season of tough competition between teams from all over Lawrence.

Janet Murphy, executive director of Boys and Girls Club of Lawrence, said the event has grown by leaps and bounds since the first year when just four teams competed.

“As the number of kids has gone up, so has the competitiveness,” Murphy said. “It’s really a big deal to them, they have great fun and look forward to it every year now.”

Each of the seven teams come from one of nine “sites” where there is a Boys and Girls Club or After School Program in place. Most of the sites are elementary schools, while the Boys and Girls Club main site also puts together a squad. Each team is made up of boys and girls in fourth, fifth, or sixth grade.

Kennedy's Lamont Ephriam glides through the lane for a shot during a semifinal game. Kennedy defeated Main Site and went on to win the championship of the Boys and Girls Club Tournament. Ephraim was named team MVP.

Supplying the teams is no problem since there is no shortage of kids wanting to play. What has also been key to the success of the tournament is the volunteer coaches, referees and staff who run the event, as well the sponsors and donations from the general community. The donations go directly to the Boys and Girls Club of Lawrence. Other donations come in the form of door prizes, or money for the “March Madness” T-shirts that are free for all the players.

Social work majors from Kansas University, such as Mandy Beck and Danielle Firsching, volunteered to help organize the tournament as part of their course work. Beck and Firsching, along with fellow volunteers Lauren Hays and Melissa Schuler, collected donations, garnered a sponsorship from the Lazer 105.9 FM, as well as 61 pizzas from various Lawrence locations. They even recruited friends to come and officiate the games.

“We really learn a lot, especially how things work in the community,” Firsching said.

The staff and officials aren’t the only volunteers. Each team needs a coach and most donated their time as Boys and Girls Club staff or volunteered through their elementary school. Kennedy head coach Stephanie Chase works at the elementary school and jumped at the opportunity to coach the team.

“It’s great for the kids,” Chase said. “Some of them don’t normally have the chance to do something like this, so it’s a good opportunity for them to have some fun.”

Chase’s Kennedy Elementary team may have had a little more fun than some of the others as they ran through the tournament without a loss to take home the championship trophy. Before the game Chase said that as long as the kids had fun that was all that mattered.

“Of course, I suppose they’ll have a little more fun if they win,” Chase said with a smile.