'Summerfest' takes over Saint John, N.B., basketball courts

The Maritimes’ biggest youth basketball tournament has seen the final buzzer go on another tournament.

In partnership with Envision Saint John, the 35th annual “Summerfest” saw 74 teams from across Atlantic Canada travel to the port city for the three-day event. Over 900 athletes aged 13 to 23 laced up their sneakers for the 121 games played across eight different gyms in Saint John, N.B.

“We almost ran out of gyms,” chuckles Basketball New Brunswick executive director Tyler Slipp. “We probably could have had one or two more because of capacity.”

“This is about as big as we get,” Slipp continues. “We have hit the limit of referees we have in the province so we had to bring some in from Nova Scotia.”

The University of New Brunswick’s Saint John campus served as the main venue for the tournament, featuring three different courts. Slipp notes the very first Summerfest took place on the same court.

“To be able to keep it here and bring the teams here is really meaningful.”

Slipp notes the sport has grown significantly in this part of the country in recent years.

“The amount of basketball that happens in the spring and summer has grown so much,” beams Slipp. “That an event like this that started with maybe 12 teams back when it first ran 35 years ago -- it’s now 74 and we have a waitlist and we have to say no to teams because we just can’t handle it.”

The tournament also brings in a great deal of economic growth for Saint John.

“The economic assessment is about half-a-million dollars that it brings to the economy over the weekend,” says Slipp. “When you think of all the restaurants we are filling, all the hotel rooms everywhere around the city, it’s just an awesome event.”

Slipp adds the tournament also serves as a final tune-up for provincial teams, with nationals set to take place in two weeks time.