After two years, Pete Sitch Basketball Tournament to return next month

The Pete Sitch Basketball Tournament returns to Lincoln after a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic and is slated for the weekend of March 19 and 20, 2022.

"We're back! And we're really excited to be back," tournament organizer Dave Sitch said.

The co-ed tournament began in 1988 in honor of Pete Sitch, who was killed in a logging accident in 1984, and raises funds for a scholarship awarded to a Lincoln graduate each year. The tournament is a way for the family to honor Pete and carry on his love and support of local sports. The tournament celebrates athletics and good sportsmanship. With the exception of the last two years it has been played every year as an effort to raise funds for the Pete Sitch Memorial Scholarship.

The ten team slots are already full for the weekend event, which will be held at Lincoln Public Schools. Everyone in the community is invited and encouraged to come out to watch and support their favorite team. "It's a lot of fun," Sitch said.

There is no admittance fee to attend, although donations at the door are always welcome.

One of the things the family is really proud of is that, despite the tournament's two-year absence, they still awarded their annual $1,200 scholarship to a Lincoln High School senior. "We were really happy that no senior had to miss out," Sitch said.

The family would like to extend their appreciation to Jill Frisbee and her crew at the Pit Stop for supplying lunches for the referees, and to Greg Smith & Julia Johnson and their crew at the Montanan Steakhouse for supplying referee dinners that weekend.

They would also like to thank the school for letting them use the facility for the tournament each year for the last 30 plus years, as well as the support from all of the sponsors and everyone in Lincoln who has supported the tournament in any way.

"We really appreciate all of the support from everyone in the community." Sitch said, expressing the family's gratitude.