I thought it was out of the question. With an out-of-town wedding scheduled on our calendars for the last Saturday of June, Sidney and I came to terms with the fact that we would miss Hoopfest. In fact, I even documented it in writing that we would be absent from the 2025 event.

But then something happened.

No, the bride and groom didn’t have a falling out! Hardly. The wedding we attended this past weekend was for Tristan and Katie, a couple we had the pleasure of mentoring for their Pre-Cana marriage prep. We would miss Hoopfest for the rest of our lives if it meant we could attend their special day. But when they announced the time of their wedding, something became evident: we could cancel our hotel reservations and travel back to Spokane late that afternoon.

You see, the wedding was in Brewster, Washington, a mere three-hour drive from Spokane. The time of the mass? 2 p.m.! We had plenty of time to attend the wedding and even enjoy a good portion of the reception before booking it back to Spokane. Although we obviously missed the entirety of Hoopfest on Saturday, we arrived home at 10 p.m., giving us plenty of time to get some sleep before heading downtown for Hoopfest on Sunday.

Sidney and I had a fabulous time attending the wedding of Tristan and Katie Gresch. This photo was taken at the reception held at Lone Point Cellars in Brewster, WA.

When it became clear that we would be able to do this, I reached out to Hoopfest and asked if they would take me on as a Sunday-only court monitor. The answer was a resounding yes!

I didn’t realize how badly they needed extra court monitors for the second day until I arrived in downtown Spokane on Sunday. I reported to Court Monitor Headquarters and they immediately pointed me to a quadrant of courts at Post and Mallon. When I arrived at the location and checked in with the court marshal, he told me he was happy to see me.

A screenshot from a video that Sidney took of me conferencing with the two teams that made it to the championship game.

Not only did he have multiple no-shows on Saturday, but he had other court monitors leave in the middle of the day. The marshal, John, desperately needed help. He pointed me to the NuDevco-sponsored court and we were in business.

A photo Sid snapped of me monitoring a game.

When I say “we,” I mean my whole family. Sidney served as my scorekeeper and book keeper while the kids assisted her. Because things became a bit chaotic in our assigned area due to Saturday’s lack of monitors, we had to get our court organized. This included working backward to properly fill out the bracket, preparing game forms, and finding a suitable ball to play with as the official Hoopfest ball was nowhere to be found. But we managed to get everything under control and prepped prior to the first 8 a.m. game.

My special Hoopfest crew was able to volunteer all day on Sunday.

From there, it was smooth sailing. We had an adult male court that featured some very competitive players and close games. Since it was a full 16-team bracket, the games went past 3 p.m. The kids did get a little restless at times but it wasn’t anything an iPhone set to YouTube couldn’t solve 😂. Even though we only spent one day volunteering, we were still able to build rapport with the players and enjoy an awesome experience.

I was super lucky to have Sid as my scorekeeper again.

A few highlights…

– This was the first year that fans tipped me money after their team’s Hoopfest journey ended. Even though I vehemently refused, they made me take it and Sloan received a surprise allowance.

– A team in our bracket was from South Carolina and they currently own a Southern-inspired food truck on the west side of Washington called Southern Nibbles. It was so cool to meet other people who are familiar with chicken bog.

– Another team in our bracket was comprised entirely of prison guards from Two Rivers Correctional Institution in Oregon.

– 2025 was the first year that court monitors didn’t receive shoes for volunteering. Instead, volunteers who worked both days received a $100 gift card to Dick’s Sporting Goods. For working Sunday, I was given a $75 gift card.

This little guy may have gotten bored once or twice, but he did spend an entire game flipping the cards for me.

As long as we don’t get invited to another wedding during the last weekend of June next year, it will be my TENTH year as a Hoopfest court monitor. My family looks forward to once again giving back to the Spokane community in this unique way. Don’t Blink.