SOAP LAKE — Part of the Suds ‘N Sun festival in Soap Lake on July 6 will be a 3-on-3 basketball tournament hosted by the Soap Lake Chamber of Commerce and the Soap Lake Prevention Coalition, aiming to bring awareness to the danger of vaping for youth through a day of basketball.

“We’re trying to promote children, or adolescents and high school kids, to be aware of the dangers of vaping,” said Nels Borg, who joins SLPC Coordinator Ryan Boldman in setting up the basketball tournament.

Soap Lake had a new full basketball court installed in the summer of 2022, replacing an older half-court that was out of date. Borg said he was a proponent of the new court being installed.

“There’s a lot of camaraderie based around a basketball court,” Borg said. “I really wanted to push it, and it finally happened. We’ve got a beautiful, full court, and the kids are using it like crazy.”

Borg said the goal is to field 16 teams in the two age brackets – a 13-15 year-old bracket and a 16-19 year-old bracket. This is the first year that the tournament is being held.

“It’s just going to be haphazard and fun – a fun first ride,” Borg said. “We’re playing it really small this time.”

If successful, he said he believes there is room to grow the tournament while still focusing on the targeted demographic.

“A lot of people are asking, ‘Well, who don’t you do adults?’ Well, adults can make up their mind about whether they want to vape or not, but it’s harder for the kids. We want to keep it in that age bracket because that’s the people we’re trying to reach as far as the Prevention Coalition goes.”

Registration is free for the basketball tournament and can be done online at https://bit.ly/4bfkDQu. Sign-ins begin at 9 a.m. at Smokiam Park on July 6, and the tournament tips off at 9:30 a.m. that same day.