Bringing March Madness home for local students

North End

Osborne Village

Centennial

West End

Elmwood

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This article was published 19/03/2025 (202 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A new basketball league for boys and girls in Grade 5 and 6 launched last month.

The Inner City Basketball League was created by Russ Patterson, vice-principal of École Victoria-Albert School, to give students from 20 inner-city schools the opportunity to play basketball, and to promote physical activity, teamwork, and community engagement.

“It has exceeded my expectations. I didn’t know what it was going to look like, but everything has really come together,” Patterson said. “Everyone has been saying it’s been going so good, the kids are really excited.”

The league is the result of a partnership between stakeholders including the Winnipeg School Division, Basketball Manitoba, the Manitoba Association of Manitoba Aboriginal Sports and Recreation Council, Winnipeg Minor Basketball Association and apparel-maker Zueike.

“My only regret is why didn’t we do this anytime sooner?” said Adam Wedlake, executive director for Basketball Manitoba, which covers the cost of the gym for the program and provides staff and equipment. “It’s been great.”

The inaugural ICBL season tipped off on Feb. 24 and continues through March 26. Games are played twice a week, on Mondays and Wednesdays, over the noon hour at the Sport for Life Centre downtown, using size 6 basketballs and nine-foot hoops. Teams of 10 compete in five-on-five games, made up of two 12-minute run-time halfs. The players wear coloured ICBL T-shirts as jerseys, with numbers and the names of their schools printed on the back.

“It’s been great,” said Paulo Delgado, a phys-ed teacher and coach from École Victoria-Albert School.

“It’s brought kids together and given them a chance to learn a new sport. A lot of our kids haven’t played basketball before or don’t really know the rules,” he said.

“Most kids here, this is probably their first experience with organized basketball,” Wedlake added. “They might have a little in gym class, or maybe one or two play on a community club team. (In the) inner city area there isn’t as much of that happening, though. There are cost barriers and realities to playing on a community club team.”

“It’s been really, really fun,” said Ahmad Karimalddin, a Grade 6 student from École Victoria-Albert School. “This is my first experience (playing basketball). I’m loving it.”

“I’m having a good time,” said Asho Muhamud, a Grade 6 student from École Victoria-Albert School. “I just like having fun.”

“This is my second time playing basketball,” said Khoi Tran, another Grade 6 student from École Victoria-Albert School. “My best part is scoring, or when people just pass to me.”

With the success of the season so far, and support from partners, Patterson hopes to come back bigger and better next year.

“Our goal is to go to 32 teams. I’m hoping we can get the gym for two months, all of February and all of March. March is March Madness of course, so we really want to kids to connect with basketball,” he said, adding that giving kids the chance to play team sports with their friends can be a huge driver in improving attendance at school and building confidence.

“It’s everything for them,” Patterson said. “Just coming to school, it gives them a reason and sense of belonging. It’s fun, there’s the social part of it. They work out for a whole hour, then come back for their afternoon classes. They’re tired, yes, but they feel accomplished. They’re part of a team.”