Crusaders forward Luke Huddlestone reaches for a loose ball while in between Marauders defenders Sam Kiunga and Nnamdi Ndubuka. (file photo/paNOW Staff)

By Derek Craddock

TAKING A STAND

P.A. High School basketball team to hold silent protest to save HOOPLA

Mar 18, 2024 | 5:12 PM

Members of a Prince Albert High School Basketball team are taking matters into their own hands to hopefully save the 2024 HOOPLA Tournament.

The Carlton Boys Senior Boys basketball team qualified for the 5A Provincial Championships happening this weekend. However, that tournament is in jeopardy due to new sanctions announced by the Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation (STF).

The STF is cancelling extracurricular activities for Thursday and Friday, right at the start of HOOPLA. The Saskatchewan High School Athletics Association (SHSAA) said if these sanctions are not lifted by 3 p.m. Wednesday, the tournament will be called off.

READ MORE: Fate of HOOPLA now up to teachers and the province says SHSAA

For Grade 12 student and captain of the Carlton basketball team, Jackson Hufnagel, the thought of not competing at the provincial tournament is devastating.

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“It’s been blood, sweat and tears all season to get here,” he said in an interview with paNOW. “This is something that we worked towards and then just for this to be pulled from us and cancelled, it’s awful.”

Not only is HOOPLA a chance to win a provincial championship, it gives opportunities for graduating players to be noticed by university squads.

“(There are) many coaches and staff at HOOPLA and scouts, it really pulls a lot of opportunities away from kids,” he said.

To have their voices heard among the strife between the teachers and the province, the basketball team is starting a silent protest to get the province and the Teachers’ Federation to communicate.

“We’re planning to not talk to the teachers until the teachers talk to the government,” said Hufnagel.

He is hopeful that this action will be perceived positively, and will make the impact they’re hoping for in ending the job action.

Meanwhile, athletes in Moose Jaw, the host city for HOOPLA, held a rally on Monday to try and save the tournament.

Roughly 50 students participated in that rally holding signs and chanting to the crowds with vehicles honking in support. Some students in attendance said they were doing this for the Grade 12 students who won’t have a chance to participate in HOOPLA after this year.

Hufnagel and the Carlton Senior Boys hope they can take their initiative province-wide with support from other student-athletes throughout Saskatchewan.

The President of the Saskatchewan Teachers Federation has responded to the action being taken by students noting she’s grateful they are taking a stand. When it comes to the possibility of cancelling events like HOOPLA, Samantha Becotte said it should have never come to this point.

“We have been talking about the challenges that students and teachers face in the classroom and in public education for nearly a decade now. The government has had plenty of opportunities to address these issues in a meaningful way, plenty of opportunities through bargaining to address these issues and they continue to refuse to acknowledge that there are solutions that can be found, that are meaningful commitments to teachers and to students.”

While the Sask Party government and Education Minister Jeremy Cockrill called the teachers union to return to the bargaining table, Becotte said they can’t do that unless the government’s bargaining committee comes back with a new mandate and is ready to negotiate on class size and complexity.

Last week, the STF invited the province to binding arbitration, which was turned down and Becotte said that would make a big difference.

“If government were to agree to that then we would cancel all sanctions and likely be able to resolve the dispute very quickly.”

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derek.craddock@pattisonmedia.com