INNISFAIL – On consecutive weekends last month at the Innisfail Schools Campus the town’s public and Catholic schools teamed up to support a pair of exciting mid-season basketball tournaments.
“It's nice to have that cohesion of the two schools on campus, and nice to bring everybody together,” said Christian Damgaard, physical education and athletics director at Innisfail High School (IHS).
On Jan. 17 and 18 there was the inaugural 2025 Grade 9 Hoopfest Basketball Tournament hosted by IHS, which was followed by St. Marguerite Bourgeoys Catholic School’s 4th annual Growler Basketball Tournament on Jan. 24 and 25.
“The (Hoopfest) tourney was great. It’s the largest school tournament of any kind hosted in Innisfail, 16 teams from schools all over the region, including some of the largest from Red Deer,” said Damgaard.
He added the goal was to have “top competition” between the schools, including ones from Red Deer, Delburne, Sylvan Lake, Lacombe, Ponoka, and of course IHS and St. Marguerite Bourgeoys Catholic School.
“It went quite well. Everyone was evenly matched, and the games were great,” said Damgaard. “We actually had our senior teams refereeing and scorekeeping. They did a fabulous job.”
On the court the IHS Grade 9 girls won the first Hoopfest championship while the boys took the consolation side.
The St. Marguerite boys team finished 8th. The girls squad did not attend.
The following weekend it was St. Marguerite’s turn to host the Growler.
Six teams competed on the boy’s draw, with another half dozen on the girl’s side.
The participating schools came from Olds, Leslieville, Rocky Mountain House, Red Deer, Spruce View and Innisfail.
On the boy’s side Red Deer’s École Camille J. Lerouge School was the winner in the final by beating Rocky Mountain House’s St. Dominic Catholic High School 48-39.
The St. Marguerite boys team won a thrilling come from behind playoff game by a score of 42-37 against Leslieville’s David Thompson High School to claim the consolation title.
“I think the kids just kind of dug in. We've talked a lot about energy and execution over the last few games,” said St. Marguerite coach Stefan Labrecque, who is also the school’s principal. “We've had a couple games where our energy hasn't been great, and then we haven't been following through with our system play, and so today (Jan. 25) the boys really bought into both things.
“But they played hard. We're missing a few kids. They made shots. They ran our systems and got good looks," he added. "They didn't fold down the stretch where it would have been easy with nerves, especially with young kids, and forget to play as a team.
“It was fun too because our home tournament is special for the kids.”
On the girl’s side, École Camille J. Lerouge School was the winner again, defeating IHS by a margin of 22-19.
“They (IHS girls) are amazing, said Damgaard. “They're on a real hot streak after they won our tournament (Hoopfest) the weekend before and then finished second in the Growler.
“So, it has been a really good run for them," he added. "They look really good heading into playoffs and potentially into zone competition as well.”
The St. Marguerite girls team and Innisfail Middle School’s boys squad both finished sixth at the Growler tourney.
