Basketball tournament bridges the gap
Ryerson University played host to the second annual "Bridging the Gap Basketball Tournament" last Saturday.
The tournament featured everything a basketball fan could want: big dunks, flagrant fouls, questionable officiating, athletic hip-hop dancing and NDP politicians raging against tuition hikes.
In between attempted ally-oops and no-look passes, guest speakers such as Ontario's NDP leader Howard Hampton took to the hardwood to raise awareness of the financial nightmare that is post-secondary education.
With Dalton McGuinty's Liberal government expected to announce a tuition hike of a predicted four to six per cent, Hampton urged the crowd to make their voices heard.
"Tuition fees are already too high... if thousands and thousands of people like you send a message, Dalton McGuinty will have to listen," Hampton said.
The event was the brainchild of Daystrom Foundation co-founders Tyler Downey and Westcott Oldford.
"Tuition is such a socially relevant issue, if we don't tackle it now, who knows where it's going to end up," Downey said. "Everyone is affected by rising tuition costs."
Downey, a long-time Jane-Finch resident, said he was extremely pleased with the turnout. There was standing room only for the championship game in West Kerr Hall.
The event was largely aimed at "bridging the gap" between high schoolers and those already in university or college and creating a united front against rising tuition costs, Downey said.
He added that proceeds for the event will go towards making summer basketball leagues affordable for kids in the West Finch area.
The Daystrom Foundation has provided programs and services for high-risk youths in the West Finch area since 2002.
The provincial NDP and the Canadian Federation of Students also supported the event.
"We are always looking for new and creative mechanisms to connect with people where they are at," Pam Frache, a CFS co-ordinator, said.
Single's Squad was crowned tournament champion, defeating the Block Headz 23-22 in the championship game.
The Squad cruised through the tournament powered by 18-year-old Jordan Rose's 'Allan Iversonesque' domination at point guard.
The 5'9" Rose scored 20 of his team's 23 points in the final game and made jumper after jumper over men twice his size.
There were eight teams in the tournament including media-based teams from the Flow 93.5 and Urban Magazine.
"Bridging the Gap" was also presented by N.I.S.E, a local upstart business that specializes in urban clothing.
RSU president Rebecca Rose had a front-row seat for the tournament's early games. Rose said that the tournament showcased part of the "multi-pronged approach" needed in the fight against rising tuition costs.
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