LAKE COUNTY — Upper Lake High School has dropped out of the Record-Bee Hoop Classic boys” basketball tournament and will not be in the field when the 18th annual competition takes place in December at Kelseyville High School.
The round-robin tournament had featured all of the county”s varsity and junior varsity boys” basketball teams since its inception in 1994. A new schedule will be released soon reflecting a four-team, round-robin format for this year”s tournament.
Winter sports schedules received Monday by the Record-Bee from Upper Lake indicated the JV boys” team was not participating in the tournament. When contacted by the Record-Bee, Upper Lake athletic director Sandy Coatney said the school would not be participating in the JV bracket, which would leave a scheduling hole in the tournament. Given the choice of entering both or neither of his teams, Coatney elected for the latter.
Clear Lake, Kelseyville, Lower Lake and Middletown will continue to compete in a round-robin format although the tournament will no longer be contested over a five-day period as it has been for its first 17 years.
The Hoop Classic is a fundraiser for the host school”s basketball program. The host school keeps all proceeds. Entry fees offset the cost of officiating and the Record-Bee pays for all tournament awards.
Former Middletown High varsity boys” basketball coach Bill Foltmer generated the idea for the tournament in the early 1990s as a much-needed fundraiser for Lake County teams who would also save on travel costs because the event was held in-county. He teamed up with the Record-Bee to launch the tournament and it debuted at Middletown in 1994. The tournament has been a consistent moneymaker since its inception, raising in the thousands of dollars for the host school and its booster club.
“It”s unfortunate Upper Lake decided not to be a part of the county”s tournament in 2011 and that the school made its decision at such a late date and with no prior notice, but the tournament will continue with four teams this year and we”ll look for a team to replace Upper Lake in 2012 if that”s what the other county schools want,” Record-Bee sports editor and co-tournament director Brian Sumpter said.
