Robin Huenink recalls a time when he and his wife, LeAnne, drove 345 miles in one day to watch their two daughters, Rachel and Lily, play sports. Neither daughter aspires for a professional athletic career. Neither parent pushes for perfect performance. The Hueninks are simply normal Montana parents willing to face the long travel that accompanies life in Big Sky Country.

The nation’s fourth-largest state with the seventh-lowest population makes for the third-lowest population density. In such a sparse state, sports meets can be a logistical challenge.

“It’s crazy how much traveling we do,” Robin Huenink said. “But the travel is just part of living here. You’re only young once and if we miss this, we miss the better part of our kids’ lives.”

Saturday, the Hueninks drove 2.5 hours through five inches of winter’s earliest snow from Plains to Libby to watch Rachel participate in Libby’s junior high girls’ basketball jamboree.

A jamboree is similar to a round-robin event and aims to schedule as many games as possible. The Saturday event was split between 7th and 8th grade teams. Libby, Troy, Hot Springs and Plains participated. No town’s teams played less than four games.

According to Libby Activities Director Wayne Baker, jamborees have grown in popularity as school districts have increasingly scrutinized budgets.

“It’s about getting bang for your buck,” Baker said. “We aim to give teams a tournament-type experience.”

Baker said jamborees work well in junior high but not in high school. Formats are more regulated and fiercely competitive at the higher level. In junior high, it is more about gaining experience.

Libby’s Stacy and Stacey Wood enjoyed the short trip to Libby High School to watch their daughter, Marissa, play. Marissa Wood played in jamborees throughout Montana this year, but her parents often stayed home. They did drive four hours to Stevensville in October to watch their son, Jacob, play goalie in Libby High’s 3-1 first round playoff loss in the state soccer tournament.

“It’s a beautiful drive,” Stacy Wood said.

Mike  and Lisa Mueller felt similarly about their trip from Hot Springs to Libby. Watching her 8th grade daughter, Mikayla, Lisa Mueller reminisced about her years as a Hot Springs basketball player and cheerleader.

“I grew up with long drives for sports,” Mueller said. “My brother, his name is Todd Riech, won the team Class C State title in track and field on his own in 1988 and 1989. They called him the, ‘The One Man Wrecking Crew.’ I joked that the team could have gone to the state tournament on a motorcycle.”