Dozens of snowmachines packed outside of the Eek school for the Midcoast League Basketball Tournament weekend.
It was a chance for teams to qualify for the regional 1A tournament, including teams from Halong-impacted communities.
To get to the tournament, boys and girls teams from Kongiganak, Tuntutuliak, Quinhagak, Kwigillingok, and Kipnuk faced a very rural Alaska set of challenges. This included a last-minute change of venue to Eek due to waterline issues in Kongiganak, where the tournament was originally scheduled to take place
In Eek, a blizzard delayed the start of the tournament. The Quinhagak Seahawks caravanned halfway to Eek by snowmachine before turning around due to whiteout conditions.
“We couldn't even see the snowmachine in front of us, just the light and it was zero-zero, whiteout. My goggles fogged up and froze,” parent Krystin Peter said, chuckling.
Eventually, all the teams made it safely to the Cougar Den, where non-stop enthusiasm from fans was on full display throughout the weekend. Eek hometown pride was especially loud, as was love for the Tuntutuliak Blue Jays — a wave of families and fans from the nearby community arrived via a second snowmachine caravan during the tournament’s championship games.
Peter said that the tournament was filled with emotions. Teams from Kwigillingok and Kipnuk were in the roster. Both are nearby communities that were almost completely evacuated after Typhoon Halong.
Evacuated students and coaches formed teams to represent their villages , with the Kwigillingok teams based in Bethel and Kipnuk, in Anchorage. The weekend’s tournament brought them back to their home corner of the Yukon-Kuskokwim (Y-K) Delta.
“It was very emotional when they first came out. A lot of people were in tears, and I was in tears when they came out,” Peter said. “I know these people because I lived in Kipnuk for three years, and it was very emotional to see those kids, like they're, they think differently now and, like, they're so strong. It was good to see them here.”
After a tournament full of close games, fast breaks, and high-intensity fandom, both the Tuntutuliak Blue Jays boys and girls teams emerged as victors of the Midcoast League Basketball Tournament.
“We know where we are. We read each other when we're on the court,” explained Tuntutuliak senior Shalisa McDalton. “Like, it's like we're family down there.”
The Tuntutuliak teams will be headed to compete in the 1A Coastal Conference Tournament in Bethel from March 1 to March 3 along with the Kwigillingok Lady Eagles, who came in second. The Quinhagak Lady Seahawks took third place. For the boys teams, Eek came in second and Kwigillingok took third.
