'We're Back!'

"I wanted to make a banner that said 'We're back' on the front of the school," Dave Sitch, coordinator of the Pete Sitch Memorial Co-ed Basketball Tournament said. "It feels awesome."

The tournament returned this year after being canceled in in both 2020 and 2021, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. The two-year absence had Sitch wondering if it could make a comeback.

"I was concerned about teams and people, but as soon as I got word out that we were good to go, we filled up just within probably a month." Sitch said while taking a break from manning the concessions at the tournament Saturday.

"You can see, people are still interested in it" he said, motioning to the packed stands in the "And donations. I've gotten several side donations."

The donation included a pair of "substantial" contributions from anonymous donors, and contributions to a donation bucket at the door topped in one day the most they'd received in the past over entire weekends.

The donations are key to ensuring the Pete Sitch Memorial Scholarships continue. Despite not hosting the tournament for two years, the Sitch family continued to fund the scholarships, which depleted the tournament account.

Sitch said he's certain the Pete Sitch Memorial, which began in 1988, was the first co-ed tournament in Montana, and it has outlasted several others.

Sitch recalled that Augusta hosted a co-ed tournament for several years, and referee Bill Kearney, who came out of retirement to referee for the tournament, said the Mariah's Challenge co-ed tournaments were huge for a few years, due to their access to larger venues. He said that tournament ended a couple years before the pandemic.

Unlike those tournaments, which had special rules for the females, such as a counting a three-point shot for four points, the Sitch takes a bit of pride in the fact their tourney never did that.

"The girls would be insulted I think if we said that," he said. "The girls ain't afraid."

"I think the other thing that's unique about these, from my vantage point, listening to the people in the stands is they have their kids here. You've got a multi-generational league," Kearney said.

Sitch agreed that in the 34 years since the tournament began, it's become a family tradition, both for locals and for players who come from out of the area to play.

He pointed out that some local families have had up to three generations hit the hardwood for the games. He pointed to Lincoln's Kelly Hagen, who played in the tournament for several years. Later his sons Reece and Zack took part. This year, his granddaughter Adysin made her debut as a player.

The generational aspect, which Sitch believes accounts for part of the tournaments staying power, isn't just limited to locals. A player on this year's championship team '16th Seed' named Bobby has a photo of himself sitting on the bleachers at the Lincoln School gym wearing a Michael Jordan shirt, watching his parents play in the tournament in the early 1990s.

Although this year saw a couple new teams that hadn't taken part in the tournament before, Sitch said those teams had members who had played in the tournament in the past.

This Sitch family is clearly expecting the tournament to carry on into the future. This year, Dave made an extension for the plaque at the school that identifies the scholarship winners. The extension will supply enough space to last until 2038, the year that will mark 50 years since the tournament and the scholarships began.