Since 1996, Basketball Manitoba has been hosting the Junior High Invitational Basketball Tournament (JHIT) during “March Madness”. The tournament is open to 12 teams from each gender and level (Senior & Junior) from the Junior High / Middle School levels. The Junior category consists of students in Grade 7 and 8. The Senior Category consists of students in Grade 9, not playing Junior Varsity. The event traditionally runs the third week of March.

Senior Boys Schedule (Grade 9)

Senior Girls Schedule (Grade 9)

Junior Boys Schedule (Grade 7-8)

Junior Girls Schedule (Grade 7-8)  

Tournament Overview      (top) 

This March, Basketball Manitoba will be hosting the 11th Annual Junior High Invitational Basketball Tournament, March 22-25, 2010. The tournament will be open to 12 teams from each level (Senior & Junior) for boys & girls, totaling 48 teams participating.

The JHIT will wrap-up the junior high basketball season by providing a year-end program for interested teams.

If your school’s team is interested in participating in this year’s tournament, please submit the Tournament Application, Season Record form, and Team Registration form (must be signed by the principal) to Basketball Manitoba no later than Friday March 12, 2010. All forms are to be submitted online (see bottom of page). You will receive an email with receipt of the application.

The Selection Committee will meet Sunday March 14, 2010 at Sport Manitoba from 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM to make the final decisions on who is in the tournament. If you plan on attending the selection meetings, please RSVP to Heather Booy (include school and level you are coaching at) on or before Friday, March 12, 2010. The more coaches that attend the organizational meetings, the more input the Selection Committee will have and the better the tournament will be!

The sites for the tournaments are confirmed as follows: (subject to change)

• Junior Girls (Grade 7 & 8) - Transcona Collegiate Institute
  
• Junior Boys (Grade 7 & 8) -Valley Gardens Middle School
  
• Senior Girls (Grade 9) - Acadia Junior High
  
• Senior Boys (Grade 9) - Daniel McIntyre Collegiate
  
• All Finals - Tec Voc High School

All Boys & Girls Championship Games will be played on Thursday March 25th at Tec Voc High School.

Tournament Format      (top)

1. 12 teams are to make up each of the four divisions (Senior Boys, Senior Girls, Junior Boys, and Junior Girls) in the tournament.
2. Teams Seeded 1-4 will receive a bye in the first round of the tournament. Teams seeded 5-12 will play in the first round with the winning teams joining teams seeded 1 – 4 in a single game knock-out bracket style tournament. (View Sample Schedule). Seeding of teams will primarily be based on matching different school divisions to avoid inter-conference play and match those teams that have not faced each other this season. A committee of coaches will be formed at each level to determine the teams to be invited into the tournament and the seeding in the draw. We invite all active Coaches / Conveners in the Junior High Leagues to contact Basketball Manitoba if they would like to serve on any of these committees.
3. Each team participating will pay a non-refundable entry fee of $150.00 (payable to “Basketball Manitoba”). Fees will go to cover tournament officials, administration & awards. Those teams losing in the Monday First Round games will receive a $100.00 rebate. Those teams losing in the Tuesday Second Round games will receive a $50.00 rebate. Those continuing through to the Semi-Finals or Finals will not receive a rebate. Basketball Manitoba will cover the costs associated with all teams who make their respective finals.  
4. Basketball Manitoba must receive cheques and team registration forms in the mail no later than Wednesday March 17, 2010 by 4:30 PM. Cheques will not be taken at the gymnasium they must be in prior to the tournament. It is suggested that coaches drop cheques off in person to Basketball Manitoba to avoid the disappointment of a mail delay. Receipts will be issued by mail the week following the tournament if requested.

Tournament Eligibility      (top) 

1. All athletes are eligible to play in the tournament that played in your school’s program in 2009-10, based on each Division’s eligibility guidelines.
2. All participants MUST be students of the school they are representing.
3. No players are allowed to move down to a team that they did not play for in 2009-10 (i.e., If a Senior team does not qualify for the tournament and the Junior team does, no players from the Senior team can be brought down to the Junior team).
4. No matter the grade of the athlete, if the athlete played at a higher level in 2009-10, they cannot participate (at a lower level) in the tournament. (E.g. If a Grade 9 player moved up and played 3 games or more at Junior Varsity (Freshmen) they are ineligible as a Senior 1. If a “Junior” player moved up to the senior level and played 3 games or more during the 09-10 season, they are ineligible to play in the tournament at the junior level).
5. All teams that participate in the tournament must have played in the same level they played in during the 2009-10 season. (E.g. If a Grade 9 team played at the “Junior Varsity” level for the 2009-10 season, they are ineligible for the tournament).
6. Junior athletes are classified as being in Grade 7 or 8 and born after Jan. 1/1995
7. Senior athletes are classified as being in Grade 8 or 9 and are born after Jan. 1/1994.
8. Teams must declare what players will be on their roster for the JHIT, prior to their conference playoffs. Teams adding new players after this point will be deleted from the tournament.
9. Appealing Rules of Eligibility - Please submit a letter stating the full details of your appeal on behalf of your player / team with your Tournament Application. The Tournament Committee will review each case at the selection meeting and will inform you of the ruling. All decisions of the tournament committee are final. Please send this information to Heather Booy.

Selection Criteria      (top) 

1. Overall team record (W-L)
2. League record (W-L)
3. Tournament play & final placing
4. Caliber of schedule (number of games, strength of opponents, etc.)

• All applications received past the date of the Selection Meeting will not be accepted for any reasons.
• All teams that applied will be officially notified by email of the decisions of the Selection Committee.
• All decisions of the Selection Committee are final. All concerns must be made in writing and forwarded to Heather Booy at Basketball Manitoba.

Other Information      (top)

• It is our intention to recognize league winners with automatic berths, but because many leagues do not declare their champions until that preceding weekend, it may be necessary to pre-seed teams based on their league records. Furthermore, since this is an “Invitational Tournament”, it is quite possible that some teams may not wish to extend their season.
• Referees will be selected from two sources: Certified MABO Officials and recommended Junior Officials from the various Conferences. If you know of a quality Junior High official, please add their name and phone number to the Application Form and submit it to Basketball Manitoba!  All officials must have attended a referee’s clinic during the current season season in order to be eligible to work.
• All teams must provide for themselves warm-up balls and appropriate matching uniforms. A matching uniform includes an undershirt (if worn) being the same color as the uniform top. This will be enforced by game officials.
• Tournament banners and medals will be presented to Tournament Champions and Finalists (2nd place). A maximum of 15 Medals per team, including coaches, will be awarded to the Champions and Finalists players. Any extra medals needed are the responsibility of the teams
• There will be no changes made to the tournament schedules once they have been released on the Tuesday prior to the event. Teams must be able to field a team on any of the times scheduled during the week. No exceptions.

PLEASE ENSURE THAT ALL COACHES IN YOUR SCHOOL ARE AWARE OF THIS INFORMATION!!

If you would like to sit on the committees or you have the names of coaches in your league that would be interested, please contact Heather Booy. We are hoping to see your program involved in this year’s tournament!

Past JHIT Champions       (top)

Please email us any information that we have missing below!

Tournament Rules      (top)

• JHIT Tournament Rules
  

         Official tournament rules of the JHIT

Application Forms      (top)

Complete the online JHIT Online Tournament Application Form.  Use the JHIT Season Record Tracker (PDF) to track your game results during the season. Information is to then be transferred over to the above Online Tournament Application Form

   
Upon acceptance into the JHIT, complete the Team Registration Form (PDF) and submit it into Basketball Manitoba prior to the Tournament start.

Frequently Asked Questions      (top)