All-Star Biddy Basketball Invitational a success for St. John Parks & Rec
Published 4:57 pm Friday, February 25, 2022
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RESERVE — Thirteen teams across eight parishes participated in the recent All-Star Biddy Basketball Tournament held February 19-20 at REGALA Gymnasium in Reserve and West St. John High School in Edgard.
Sports Program Coordinator Errol Manuel said this was the first time St. John the Baptist Parish Parks & Recreation has hosted a Biddy Basketball invitational in the past three years. While recreation took a hit during the COVID-19 pandemic and Hurricane Ida, Parks & Rec is successfully building back its local programming with new sports offerings and record participation.
Biddy Basketball has welcomed 194 participants from ages 5 to 12 this year in St. John Parish. This past weekend’s invitational spotlighted teams in the 10-year-old and 12-year-old age groups. Eight teams competed in the 10U division at REGALA, while five teams competed in the 12U division inside the West St. John gymnasium.
“Since the hurricane, we have been working to get the numbers up, and they are steadily rising,” Manuel said. “Biddy was hit hard with the hurricane also. They lost a lot of franchises, especially down the bayou. People are behind, and we’re the lucky ones to be able to host a program this year. The Biddy Tournament was a huge success.”
According to Manuel, hosting an invitational helps boost the local economy by directing visitors to local hotels and restaurants. It also allows others to see what St. John Parish Recreation has to offer.
“We’re doing a lot more advertising to get the word out and increase participation. It’s very important because we want to give kids something positive to do in St. John Parish,” Manuel said.
Registration is currently open for youth baseball and a boys’ and girls’ tennis camp. For more information on what’s offered, please visit https://www.sjbparish.gov/Departments/Parks-and-Recreation.
The results of last weekend’s Biddy Basketball Invitational are as follows:
10-YEAR-OLD DIVISION
(Pool Play)
G1: St John 35 – Walker 51
G2: New Orleans 51 – St Bernard 11
G3: Walker 51 – West Ascension 26
G4: JPRDWEST 50 – New Orleans 35
G5: Acadiana 42 – JPRDWEST 37
G6: West Ascension 23 – St James 41
G7: St Bernard 10 – Acadiana 53
G8: St James 44 – St John 47
BRACKET PLAY:
G1: New Orleans 46 – St James 30
G2: JPRDWEST 42 – St John 32
G3: Walker 49 – West Ascension 31
G4: Acadiana 38 – St Bernard 10
G5: JPRDWEST 60 – Walker 51
G6: Acadiana 34 – New Orleans 32
G7: Acadiana 38 – JPRDWEST 37
1st Place – Acadiana
2nd Place – JPRDWEST
12-YEAR-OLD DIVISION:
(Pool Play)
G1: JPRDWEST 38 – St John 23
G2: West Ascension 10 – New Orleans 75
G3: St James 15 – JPRDWEST 46
G4: St John 39 – West Ascension 8
G5: New Orleans 58 – St James 9
BRACKET PLAY:
G1: West Ascension 40 – St James 55
G2: JPRDWEST 52 – St John 25
G3: New Orleans 45 – St James 26
G4: JPRDWEST 39 – New Orleans 45
1st Place – New Orleans
2nd Place – JPRDWEST
