The Kwalikum Secondary has a longstanding tradition that has continued for three decades.
It's the annual alumni basketball tournament, which has been renamed the Bob Bate Memorial Alumni Basketball Tournament.
The tournament was established in 1994 and recently celebrated its 30th anniversary. They had three alumni men's teams, consisting of former Kondors players, some of whom had played more than 20 years ago, and also the current Kondors senior boys team. There was one alumni women's team that took on the current senior girls basketball team.
The competition is friendly and fun but can also be intense. The older alumni would use their years of experience and also their more mature physiques to give younger players a tough time. The not-so-old players apply more of their youth and ability to get the older folks gasping at times.
Overall, the tournament is a fun occasion, said Mark Thompson, one of the oldest former players at the tournament. He graduated in 2000, the year the Kondors made the provincials for the first time. When he left, Thompson said he looked forward to attending the alumni game.
"I did it just about every year but then you know, you get older and you have kids and stuff like that," said Thompson. "So, I skipped a few years and came back last year. I actually hurt my knee, so last year I left on stretcher."
Thompson has been going through rehab to strengthen the knee again. He was hoping to play this year but was told not to as the knee is not quite ready yet.
"I am coming back, yeah," said Thomson. "This is a great event. Everyone I know when we were in Grade 12 is here. When we were growing up in the late 1990s we just loved to play basketball. For many of us, basketball was life. This has become a tradition and it's great to see the many seniors players from the past and the current one. It's a close-knit group."
Last year's Kondors senior boys head coach, Taylor Wilson, is also an avid participant in the annual tournament. He graduated in 2002 and since then he eagerly looks forward to the event.
"It's better than when I was playing collegiate ball," he quipped. "It's the camaraderie we have here and the history. Like it's always been good with a lot of guys coming back. We all have a social as well and that's where you tell war stories and stuff. And that tradition gets passed on to the younger guys."
Recent graduates like Nolan Lewis take pleasure on having to play against his former coach, Wilson. He graduated in 2020 and still attending school at the Concordia University in Edmonton.
"I have to come back to the alumni tournament every year," said. Lewis. "It's always fun to see a lot of the guys who went here before us and compete against them. You know, I get to beat Taylor. So that's always fun."
Kyle Dykstra, now a teacher in the Victoria school district, intends to keep keep playing in the alumni until he can't hoop anymore.
"I haven't missed an alumni game since I graduated in 2004," said Dykstra, who is also a basketball coach. "The sense of community the event provides us bring us all back together. We love to come back and it's more important now that it was when we were younger."
Bate was one of the founding members of the longtime event. He was a basketball coach, a teacher, mentor and friend to many.
"He was one the reasons I became a teacher," said Taylor, who got a bit emotional when he talked about Bate. "He carried his heart on his sleeve. He cared about every kid who went through school. It didn't matter what you didn't have to be a basketball player. He. cared and to carry on his legacy it's big thing."
The tournament ended with finals between the two oldest teams, Glory Days (2000-2012) versus We're Not Old Yet (2013-2017). It was closely contested match. However, in the fourth quarter, Glory Days edged ahead and held on to win 67-62. The Golden Boot award was presented to Kevin Frampton, the current head coach of the Kondors senior boys team.
