The Cochrane Classic basketball tournament is back for its 11th installment which will begin on Dec. 13 and finish on Dec. 15. "Buy in from the three schools is very important. We've been really lucky that Bow Valley, St. Timothy and Cochrane High all work together to make this event happen. With so many people and teams involved, there's so many moving parts and for all that to come together is a minor miracle somethings," said organizer Doug Jensen. "The leadership from those schools are a major factor and the desire for them to be part of this event keeps it going." The tournament will once again feature 32 teams from across Alberta competing in four different divisions with an "Oregon Draw" format meaning a team must win every game to become the tournament champion. All three Cochrane schools will be participating in different divisions with teams from Calgary, Medicine Hat, Canmore, Strathmore and other communities in Alberta. "We have junior boys and girls as well as senior boys and girls, so eight teams in each division of the tournament and each school has the opportunity to put teams in," Jensen said. "This year, we have all four Cochrane High teams in each division, Bow Valley has three teams participating, one in every division except for senior boys and St. Timothy has a senior boys and senior girls team participating but nothing at the junior level." Jensen said it's important for all three schools to come together in order to keep locals interested in the tournament. "Having unity from all three schools was the overall goal when I first came up with the idea to get all three schools involved. There's a lot of overlap and interaction between all three schools on a regular basis," said Jensen. "They all have friends that go to other schools, they see each other at extracurricular events so I just wanted to make this an official opportunity around the world of basketball to share their experience with one another. It really is about the community, with the town coming on board and being part of welcoming other teams ... there's a number of organizations around town that help us in small ways and don't really ask for anything in return." Jensen said the event would not be possible without the community involvement. Aside from his role as an organizer, Jensen is also an assistant coach with the Cobras senior girls team. While he said he doesn't have any expectations team-wise, he does have some high expectations when he puts on his organizer cap. "In terms of results, no. I have expectations as far as community-mindedness that surrounds the tournament. I'm hoping that people come and cheer for one another ... Bow Valley and St. Tim's cheering for Cochrane High and Cochrane High cheering for St. Tim's and Bow Valley," Jensen said. "The expectation around sportsmanship and our high level of ethics are high in any sport that we play, but particularly at this tournament, it's something we encourage and support for sure. As far as result based expectations, I don't for my team in particular or any of the other Cochrane schools. I just hope they come out, work hard, have a good showing and show some good sportsmanship." The tournament will begin at 4 p.m. on Dec. 13 and then will start at 9 a.m. the following two days.
