ARLINGTON – Despite some inclement weather, the first Arlington Eagles Classic Streetball 3-on-3 Tournament this weekend was a success.
Organizers had to reschedule games and scramble to find indoor courts for Sunday after a deluge halted the outdoor games about 2 p.m. Saturday.
“We went from plan A to plan B to plan C,” said Janelle Hampton, who conceived and organized the event.
Two blocks of N. Olympic Avenue in downtown Arlington were blocked off Saturday. Sixty-nine teams from as far away as Bellingham and Tacoma, including boys and girls from fourth to 12th grades and three men’s divisions, played on temporary hoops set up on the street.
Former Seattle SuperSonics star Slick Watts, the Seattle Storm’s Michelle Greco and Alicia Thompson, and the University of Washington’s Kayla Burt, an Arlington High School graduate, all made their scheduled appearances Saturday, Hampton said. Though it was after the games had stopped, they still were able to meet some of the players, she said.
But the weather cooperated on Sunday, and the games were played without any further problems.
The setting was a fun departure from the norm, said players Shayna Prause, 15, and Alyssa Marsh, 14, of Arlington.
“It’s outside,” Marsh said.
The event was a fund-raiser for Arlington High School’s summer programs, Hampton said.
She noted the help she got from sponsors, the city and nearby merchants, who welcomed the tournament. Officials from the Arlington School District offered two gyms as alternate Sunday sites, and one, at Post Middle School, was used.
“In my mind, it was a cooperative effort,” she said.
Reporter Bill Sheets: 425-339-3439 or sheets@heraldnet.com.
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