WESTLOCK – St. Mary School’s fifth-annual Rome’s Classic basketball tournament has been postponed following the provincially-mandated extension to the Christmas break.
This marks the second year straight the pandemic has impacted the tournament as 2021 was cancelled as COVID-19 restrictions gripped the province and there were limited athletics.
“I made the call to postpone the tournament. If we’re not in school and have no chance to practice, then there’s no real point in having it,” said St. Mary School boys coach and tournament organizer Darcy Romanuik. “We got the rug pulled out from under our feet. We’ll just have to look forward to later this year.”
Also citing concerns regarding the potential spread of the virus from school to school, Romanuik hopes to reschedule the tourney for February. While initially aiming to reschedule for late January, Romanuik was worried about interfering with mid-term exams.
Because there are not enough teams to form a 1A basketball league in the area, the event acts as way for teams in the area to compete against one another and determine rankings for 1A zones, which takes place later in the year.
The event, which is held at the Westlock Rotary Spirit Centre normally includes teams from Thorhild, Boyle, Thorsby, Warburg and Neerlandia.
Without this tournament, Romanuik explains that coaches in the area rely on scores uploaded to the Alberta Schools’ Athletic Association’s website to determine the ranking of each team. This can prove to be difficult and inaccurate when it comes to determining skill level and rank as not every game and score are uploaded. The site also does not factor in players missing the game, which can have a significant impact on the standings.
