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The Bay Ball Classic basketball tournament is reported to be taking its three-and-out show to Delaware State University for December 2008. A trail of unpaid bills currently litters the local landscape of hoop dreams, but tournament Director Duane Coverdale, a Milford School District teacher, said, “All financial commitments will be met, and all parties will be paid. We are not running away - just moving north to Dover.”
Cape Henlopen School District officials reported the Bay Ball tournament owes the district about $16,210 for the four-day use of the facility and the cost of custodial supplies and staff from the 2007 tournament.
“There was a January meeting at which time Duane Coverdale, the tournament director of the Bay Ball Classic, indicated they were working on moving the tournament to Delaware State University,” said Janis Hanwell, Cape Henlopen School District assistant superintendent.
Hanwell said at that meeting Superintendent George Stone agreed Bay Ball liability and payment to Cape for facilities use be extended to the end of the fiscal year, which is June 30.
International Association of Approved Basketball Officials Inc. Board 129 Assigner and Treasurer Jeff David confirmed his organization has not been paid, and Bay Ball owes it $5,670 for games officiated.
Sgt. Barry Dean of Delaware State Police Troop 7, who is in charge of special assignments, said he has presented Bay Ball with a bill but so far has not been paid. The $4,770 bill was presented Feb. 6, he said.
Cape Henlopen football Boosters Club worked a food concession and were expecting payment in the amount of $2,000. “We had football booster parents work 15-hour days four straight days,” said booster President Lori Mathews. “At the end, the Bay Ball people took 50 percent, and Cape and Lake Forest split the other 50 percent.
Coverdale explained the majority of financial backers for the December Bay Ball tournament come from the real estate business community. “We just haven’t gotten in all our commitments,” Coverdale said. Translation: Businesses who promised money have not delivered. “Everybody will be paid,” Coverdale said. “I’ve talked to Dr. [George] Stone of Cape and Sgt. Dean of the state police and Jeff David from the officials’ association. The situation has been explained to everyone, and they know what’s going on.”
The Bay Ball budget is balanced for the previous two tournaments, 2005 and 2006, Coverdale said. “Bay Ball is a different entity than what happened to Slam Dunk,” he said. “This is not about mismanagement, and we will honor our financial commitments.”
A not-well-kept secret has Bay Ball negotiating a move to Delaware State University for 2008. Coverdale has been waiting to release that information until after financial obligations for Bay Ball 2007 have been met. “We are not running from anyone,” Coverdale said. “There is no mismanagement of this tournament. It’s just that some financial supporters backed out at the last minute. Everything is above board. We decided to proceed with the tournament. Kerry Kinard, executive director, and myself did not take a salary for 2008, and neither did any of my staff. It was all volunteer and on the house.”
A complete financial report, with evidence all bills are paid, is part of the paperwork that must be submitted to Delaware Interscholastic Athletic Association (DIAA) before the 2008 Bay Ball Classic can be sanctioned.
Hanwell said she saw the financial report for the 2006 Bay Ball Classic, and the tournament had made a profit that year.
Juggling timelines and getting early commitments from teams of national caliber before the tournament is actually sanctioned and fully funded seems to have led to this year’s Bay Ball running in the red. “The first we really knew the Bay Ball tournament was back at Cape for 2007 was when the Cape Gazette wrote that the teams and brackets were up online [www.bayball.org],” Hanwell said.
“Sussex County Council provided a grant of $15,000 for the second straight year,” said Sussex County Administrator Dave Baker. “The money is channeled through the Delaware Community Foundation. They are an organization that solicits donations for nonprofit organizations.” Money is deposited and used for public purposes, Baker said, noting that according to rules, the money could not be dispersed until Dec. 26.
DIAA Executive Director Kevin Charles said sanctioning forms for tournaments involving many states are ideally filed in a timely manner at least 90 days before the event, but that timeline is often not met. “It is a little like the cart before the horse,” Charles said. “You have to invite the teams, get sponsorship and raise funds and have it all come together. Once our office receives information -including a full financial report from the previous year - we send that information to all the states with teams competing. That is our policy, and it is a National High School Federation rule.”
Charles was aware that many businesses, particularly related to real estate, made verbal commitments to support the Bay Ball Classic but bailed at the last minute because of a market slowdown. “We bend over backwards so teams don’t lose opportunities to participate,” Charles said. “The DIAA board of directors will look at the Bay Ball financial reports to make sure books are balanced before sanctioning the tournament for 2008.”
Coverdale admits that with the tournament in place and invitations already extended, he considered canceling the party. “I made a decision to go forward, and what resulted was a great tournament involving several teams of national caliber,” he said.
Geoff Von Dollen, director of external operations for the Delaware State Athletic Department, was busy at the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference basketball tournament and was not able to confirm Delaware State had offered Memorial Hall to Bay Ball for the 2008 tournament.
Contact Dave Frederick at davefredman@comcast.net
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