Cape Breton’s Coal Bowl Classic the hottest ticket in town
The gym at Breton Education Centre in New Waterford, N.S., was empty on Sunday, but soon it will be filled with basketball players and fans.
“I joke, ‘That day, we were more popular than Taylor Swift because we were sold out in about 8 minutes.’ It was pretty awesome,” said Aimee Romard, co-chair of the Coal Bowl Classic.
The six-day basketball tournament is returning for the first time in two years. It features teams from the local area, mainland Nova Scotia, Quebec and Ontario.
Players were checking in on Sunday and anticipating an event they've heard so much about.
“We've already seen some of the culture. It's going to be exciting to learn more, and then the games will be competitive with lots of fans,” said Owen Ross, a St. Mark High School player.
The experience is unique. All teams stay in make-shift dorms inside the school.
The classrooms transformed into accommodations, giving players a chance to bond off the court.
For the hometown BEC Bears, they feel they have a chance to come out on top.
“This year our team is looking pretty good and we think we have a chance to be the third team to win, so that's the goal for the week,” said Luke MacKinnon, Breton Education Centre Bears player.
This will mark the 39th year for the Coal Bowl Classic that has been a slam dunk in New Waterford for decades.
The tournament is steeped in tradition and is known among the basketball community across the country.
“It's a basketball tournament for sure, but we have people leaving here as players, coaches, and fans talking about the experience. It's like they're professional players coming into town and they're celebrities, and we want them to experience New Waterford and Cape Breton's hospitality,” said teacher Doug MacKinnon.
It's also good for business.
“We've got 250 extra people in town, so it does make a difference for our small businesses and I do think they were affected by that, so it's good for them that we're back as well,” said Romard.
Play begins on Monday with the tournament and finishes up Saturday with the championship final.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING NEWS Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
BREAKING New York appeals court overturns Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction from landmark #MeToo trial
New York’s highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction, finding the judge at the landmark #MeToo trial prejudiced the ex-movie mogul with improper rulings, including a decision to let women testify about allegations that weren’t part of the case.
Residents of northern Alberta First Nation told to shelter in place
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Monthly earnings rise, payroll employment falls: jobs report
The number of vacant jobs in Canada increased in February, while monthly payroll employment decreased in food services, manufacturing, and retail trade, among other sectors.
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
Metro Vancouver mayors call for serial killer Robert Pickton to be denied parole
A dozen mayors from around Metro Vancouver say federal Attorney General and Justice Minister Arif Virani should deny parole for notorious B.C. serial killer Robert Pickton, and reassess the parole and sentencing system for 'prolific offenders and mass murderers.'