Alberta Hoops Summit 2024

On May 31st 2024, the Canadian Hoops Circuit came to Calgary with the Alberta Hoops Summit hosted at Mount Royal University. Sponsored by Under Armour, this tournament is one of the few that offers full FIBA games, without shortened quarters or fewer timeouts. The standout feature of every Canadian Hoops Circuit tournament is the focus on post-secondary basketball. In just the Alberta leg of the tour, there were speeches delivered to the players from Brandon Brock who is an assistant coach at McMaster University, a U-Sport school in Ontario, as well as Nathan Ruff, the head coach of local ACAC/CCAA St. Mary's University. Beyond player development in tournament, there were appearances by coaches at the University of Calgary and the University of Windsor, as advertised by the all-access instagram page (https://www.instagram.com/canadahoopscircuit/). It is because of this page and other sources connected to it that the Canadian Hoops Circuit has firmly cemented itself among other club tournaments with the best media coverage in the country. Finally, true to the spirit of 'showcasing' homegrown talent, this tournament allows for players that have redshirted at a post-secondary program to return to the tournaments, provided they are still under the age restrictions.

This is the second year of the Alberta leg of the circuit, and featured returning teams of the Calgary Blizzards, Southside Hoops, and two UofA Junior Bears teams. Rounding out the tournament were Ignite Basketball, DT Elite, and the host ACE Basketball. The tournament with Junior Bears #1 finishing first, Junior Bears #2 taking second, and ACE taking home third over DT Elite. With these finishes, the Junior Bears and ACE will both be punching tickets to the National Final Tournament for the circuit, again being hosted at Mount Royal on June 11th, featuring the champions from other legs of the circuit, those hosted in B.C., Ontario, Quebec, and the Midwest and Atlantic Hoops Summits.

For any club teams with potential U-Sports or CCAA talent, there is no better place to showcase these players in front of local coaches, as well as those across Canada. Coaches can expect to see the Circuit return to Alberta again next year, can definitely expect some of the best competition you could hope for.