FLINT, Mich. —Mayor Karen Weaver and Flint’s Director of Community Recreation, Sean Croudy, are excited to announce that Saturday, March 17, 2018, is “Championship Saturday” for the City-wide Basketball League. Championship Saturday will include a day of basketball games, and trophies will be presented to the teams that come out on top.
“It’s like March Madness for Flint basketball,” commented Croudy. “It has been great to see all the parents and people from the community coming out each Saturday to watch and support the kids, and tomorrow we will wrap things up for the season and celebrate all the players’ hard work.”
Championship Saturday will be the culmination of the first season of City league basketball in Flint in more than 15 years. Mayor Weaver joined with community partners to launch the league in December to help give local kids a productive activity to become involved in.
“Kids in Flint need more constructive and fun things to participate in and this basketball league helped fill that void,” said Mayor Weaver. “Each weekend the stands have been full with people watching and cheering the kids on, so this has been good for the entire community.”
More than 300 youngsters signed up to play in the free City-wide basketball league. There were a total of 30 different teams divided into two age groups. The games for Championship Saturday will take place in the same two locations players have been playing at all season. Middle and high school age players will play at Cathedral of Faith Ministries on Dupont Street, while elementary school-age players will be at Eagles Nest Academy on Cloverlawn Drive.
“The kids and coaches have been playing hard all season learning and developing their skills and it even goes beyond basketball,” said Croudy. “The kids have also gained confidence and learned the importance of teamwork.”
The Flint City-wide Basketball League is being offered to area kids free of charge, thanks to a partnership between the City of Flint, the Resiliency in Communities After Stress and Trauma (ReCAST) program, Chris McLavish Basketball (CMB), Cathedral of Faith Church and Foss Avenue.
