Pam Dudding-Burch Contributing writer

Competitive fun was not lacking and little snips at ‘older age’ individuals were not spared on the court at the alumni basketball game at Craig County High School held by the school’s Beta Club on Friday, March 18.

There were two separate games, the men and the ladies, as a fundraiser for the club. A parent of a Beta member suggested the idea. “We ran with it, got approval and we had a successful and fun game,” teacher Lindsey Parsons shared.

Only one rule was required to play in the game: each participant had to be a CCHS graduate. “However, you didn’t have to play basketball in high school,” Parsons said. “Any CCHS alum could play.”

The teams are set up where the even-graduating years played against the odd-graduating years. The teachers and students agreed that just being a spectator at the games was very entertaining as they watched what the students think are ‘old people’ play.

“I think, though, that the audience was surprised at just how much game all of the alumni had,” Parsons said.

The alumni ladies ended up playing CCHS basketball players because the number of players were a little low, but it still made for an awesome game. Though the high school team won, it was only by a small margin. “We can’t remember the scores,” one alum said laughing. For the men, some high school students also subbed. “It was to help the old folks out,” they laughed.

It was fun to watch parents play their kids in these games. “And, some of the fellas definitely looked a little rusty,” a spectator exclaimed. “I’m sure they got in their workout for the next 365 days or so!”

During each halftime and intermission, the players participated in some exciting shoot-outs. The spectators and players together shared in ‘hoots’, claps and a little competitive shout-outs.

Winners were: Derek Persinger – men’s half court shoot-out, Matthew Lucas – kids free throw line shoot-out, Grace Faw and Olivia Menezes girls half court shoot-out. All winners took home gift cards. The CCHS Cheerleaders also had halftime entertainment; there was a 50/50 raffle and just plain competitive fun.
Admission was only five dollars for adults and three dollars for elementary children. Still, the totals for the fundraiser came to over $600 for the Beta Club. The money raised will be used for the 2017-2018 Leadership Summit and next year’s Beta State and National Conventions.

There have been a number of alumni games in the history of Craig Schools, but the Beta Club decided to ‘resurrect’ the game and make it an annual event. “The older ones will be given more time to practice that way,” one younger alumni shared with a grin.

The grand prize for the winners was a take-home of ‘pride and glory’. “They got the bragging rights and that was priceless to them,” Parsons said. “We had a great turnout and a super fun event.”