WHAT A PARTY – Lisa Shiels (left), who helped to spearhead the Killarney Basketball Enhancement Project; David Asper (right), owner and chair of the Winnipeg Sea Bears (with Ian Patterson of Buckets & Borders behind him); and Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew (below, with Justin Lee of Buckets & Borders behind him); all spoke at the start of the basketball court’s grand opening late last Friday afternoon. Other dignitaries who spoke during the opening remarks included Marv Magwood from HyLife, Matt Nichol of the Killarney Foundation, and Rob MacTavish of the Turtle Mountain School Division.

GATHERING FOR A GROUP PHOTO – Dignitaries, sponsors, volunteers, committee members and more gathered for a group photo after the speeches.

BIG BUCKETS & BORDERS GRAND OPENING OF NEW COURT – Coach Mike Raimbault of the Winnipeg Sea Bears, along with the Buckets & Borders team led a free youth mini camp at the grand opening of the amazing new outdoor basketball court at Killarney School. The Killarney court is a project of Buckets & Borders and the Winnipeg Sea Bears Foundation, which is the team’s charitable arm, “dedicated to removing barriers to sport and investing in public basketball spaces across Manitoba,” they said. In total, the Sea Bears have now partnered with Buckets & Borders to open seven outdoor courts in the province, part of a growing effort to remove barriers to the game and create lasting grassroots impact across Manitoba. 

LONG LINE FOR FOOD – The food line was long last Friday, extending out (left) to the Killarney School grounds, but it was worth the wait, at the grand opening of the community’s new basketball court. HyLife, one of the court’s local sponsors, cooked up the food for the event, along with help from members of the Filipino community. The Migrants band (below) entertains folks in the food line. See more photos, and a Sea Bear, below.

ALUMNI ALL-STARS AND A WHOLE LOT OF FUN – After a wonderful evening of basketball drills, games, a three-point contest, friendly wandering Sea Bears, and more, the night wrapped up with an awesome local Alumni All-Star Game. What a great event and what a beautiful basketball court!