SLA Will Participate in Annual Union Basketball Tournament

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Every year the Atlantic Union Conference of Seventh-Day Adventists holds a high school basketball tournament for all its schools. This year, unfortunately, Atlantic Union College, which has been the site of this tournament for many years, can’t hold the tournament for obvious reasons; AUC is closed. Instead, Union Springs Academy has eagerly and generously offered to hold the tournament up at their campus, located between Rochester and Syracuse, New York.

This year, the tournament will be held from Thursday, March 1 through Sunday, March 4, 2012. South Lancaster Academy students will be leaving Wednesday, February29, right after school ends and will be returning Sunday evening. For transportation, parents have willingly offered their time to drive SLA students to and from the Union Springs tournament. The price for tournament this year is $130.00 per student.

In the past, Union Springs has not been able to participate in the tournament because of transportation issues and price. Needless to say, they are very excited about hosting the tournament. John Baker, Union Springs principal, has been the main person in charge of planning the tournament and has been communicating with Dustan Cook about the details, etc.

Unfortunately, both SLA’s boys’ and girls’ varsity teams will not be participating in tournament this year because playoffs will be happening at the exact time as tournament. And both teams have made playoffs! Mr. Cook’s thought on the tournament, “I am frustrated with the conflict that our varsity’s’ can’t participate but am very excited that our students have a new place to go for tournament.”

Some of the students who are on the SLA basketball teams have differing opinions on participating in tournament. Sophomore Elena Shand, Girls’ Varsity co-caption says, crestfallen, “There’s nothing to say.” Two of the Boys’ Varsity captains, Senior Eduardo Cunha and Junior Kofi Omane, both say that “I am sad that we’re not going to tournament but comforted that the reason we’re not going is because we’re going to playoffs (to play for the SLA cause!)”. Junior Helio Ferreira says “I don’t really care because I wouldn’t have been able to go this year even if we hadn’t made it to playoffs.”

Last year, SLA’s Lady Crusaders won the tournament and the (boys) Crusaders came in second. Last year six schools participated in tournament: Central Vermont Academy, Pine Tree Academy, Greater New York Academy, Greater Boston Academy, Northeastern Academy and obviously, South Lancaster Academy.

This year, there are supposedly seven schools participating but it is rumored that one school’s students, Greater Boston Academy’s, do not want to participate in the tournament this year. As of right now, according to Dustan Cook, they are participating in the tournament. The six other schools participating in the 2012 Union Springs Basketball Tournament are: Central Vermont Academy (who only has a boys basketball team), Greater New York Academy, Northeastern Academy, Union Springs Academy, Pine Tree Academy (who might not have a girls basketball team, there is no confirmation on that), and South Lancaster Academy (who’s girls’ junior varsity team has yet to decide if they will participate).

The tournament should be fun and different this year because of the new location and a new team will be featured from Union Springs. May the best skilled team win!