Left to right: Halle, Jen, and Dan Rourke (provided image)
The second annual Hoops For Hope basketball tournament was a success, raising around $12,000 for youth-led community projects.
This year, the event brought together 20 boys’ and 16 girls’ student teams in the 3×3 basketball event.
After a day packed with basketball match-ups, both the girls’ and boys’ teams from The Woodlands Secondary School won gold in their respective categories.
This year, the tournament was also officially recognized as a regional event but OFSAA (Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations).
The event was co-hosted by WDCS and Sacred Heart, and was also attended by teams from schools as far away as Windsor, which represented four different athletic associations: CWOSSA, SCAA, SWOSSAA, and WOSSAA.
The Hoops For Hope event was founded by Olivia Rourke, who was a student of Walkerton District Community School, who passed away in a tragic car accident last year.
The foundation that was started in her honour, the Olivia Rourke Foundation, funds initiatives such as youth-led projects that are aimed at advancing women in sport, and raising money for cancer care and research.
Before her passing, Rourke had originally wanted to organize a 3×3 basketball tournament to recognize her mother’s fight against breast cancer.
The Hoops For Hope event combines both her love of basketball, and recognition for her mother’s health battle.
Walkerton District Community School student and staff volunteers (provided image)