The following is being distributed at the request of School Sports Newfoundland and Labrador:

Provincial Girls Basketball Championships This Weekend

School Sports Newfoundland and Labrador basketball heat up this coming weekend with provincial champions being crowned in five divisions. Girls� teams from all over the province will be vying for the coveted banner.

Holy Name of Mary High in Lawn is the host school for the Small Schools Girls tournament. Five teams , the host, St. Joseph�s All Grade (Terrenceville), Valmont Academy (King�s Point), St. Mark�s All Grade (Kings Cove) and St. Joseph�s Academy (Lamaline) will be competing, in a round robin format. The tournament gets underway 1:00 p.m. Thursday and continues throughout Friday and finishes up with the top two teams playing the championship game at 9:00 a.m. Saturday.

Belanger Memorial in Doyles is the host school for the Girls 2A Basketball tournament. Eight teams will compete in a two division round robin format. Division A will consist of Random Island Academy, J. M. Olds Collegiate (Twillingate), E.A. Butler All Grade (McKays) and Viking Trail Academy (Plum Point). Facing off in Division B will be Stella Maris High (Trepassey), MSB Regional High (Middle Arm), Belanger Memorial and Fitzgerald Academy (English Harbour East). The opening game is set for 2:30 p.m. Thursday afternoon. The top two teams from each division will meet in the playoffs, Saturday morning with the winners of these games playing at 2:30.

The Girls Fair Play Tournament is being hosted by Ascension Collegiate in Bay Roberts. Seven teams will be vying for the provincial banner. The Blue Division will see action between the host, Ascension Collegiate, Bishops College (St. John�s) and Clarenville High. Playing in the Gold Division will be Discovery Collegiate (Bonavista), Prince of Wales Collegiate (St. John�s), Laval High (Placentia) and Corner Brook High. One game will be played Thursday evening with the remaining divisional games scheduled for Friday and Saturday morning. The semi-finals will be played 12:30 and 2:15 Saturday followed by the championship game at 4:30.

Eight teams will be competing in Stephenville for the Girls 3A Basketball title. Teams have been divided into two divisions for round robin play. The top two teams from each division will advance to the playoffs. Battling in Division A will be Stephenville High, Dunne Academy (St. Mary�s), Gander Collegiate and Menihek High (Labrador City). Rounding out the field in Division B will be Elwood High (Deer Lake), Baltimore High (Ferryland), St. Lawrence Academy and St. Catherine�s Academy (Mount Carmel). The tournament starts Thursday at 5:30 and concludes with the championship game 7:30 Saturday evening.

Holy Heart of Mary in St. John�s is the host school for the 10 team 4A Girls Tournament. Games get underway 3:30 Wednesday afternoon and continue on through to the championship game 5:00 Sunday. Teams vying for the prestigious championship title include Gonzaga High, Bishops College, St. Bons College, Roncalli High (Avondale) and O�Donel High (Mount Pearl) in the Blue Division. In the Black Division St. Kevin�s High (Goulds), Holy Heart of Mary High, Booth Memorial, Corner Brook High and Mount Pearl Senior High will face off.

The boys teams have the weekend off, but will be back in the court next weekend with the boys champions being decided.

In its continuing effort to emphasize sportsmanship, School Sports Newfoundland and Labrador, are sponsoring the Sportsmanship First Program. In addition to the Team Sportsmanship Banner, each team will nominate an individual player to receive an individual sportsmanship medal.

The top teams will be awarded with gold and silver medals, while the top team in each division will receive a championship banner. Individual winners will be awarded gold, silver and bronze medals.

R.B.C. has joined as a major partner of School Sports Newfoundland and Labrador.

For complete schedule and game scores, visit www.schoolsportsnl.ca

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