Basketball players faced disappointment Nov. 11 when OCCC’s Intramural 5-on-5 tournament was cancelled due to an insufficient number of participants.

Only nine players appeared for the tournament that was to be held on Veterans Day.

The excitement of the players as they walked into the gym quickly evaporated when they saw that not enough players showed up and the prospect of a cancelled tournament loomed before them.

The tournament was scheduled to start at 1 p.m. but with so few players attending the tournament, Recreation and Sports Specialist Eric Watson decided to move the tip-off time back to 1:30 p.m. in an attempt to give the late teams a chance to show up.

Unfortunately for the players, no one else came.

Glumness and disappointment were immediately evident when the cancellation of the tournament was announced.

A potential participant in the tournament, Pierre Davis, was let down by what he perceived to be a lack of interest in college athletics.

“I’m very disappointed,” Davis said.

“It shows that no one cares about the events going on in the gym.”

Another participant, Drew Mitchell, was unhappy that his investment of time and gas money had come to nothing.

“I drove from Shawnee expecting to play a lot of games,” Mitchell said. “It’s about a 40 minute drive.”

Several players felt that there was a lack of advertisement for the tournament and cited that in particular as a reason for the low turnout.

“I don’t think you can just throw something out there for two weeks with no exact time or date and expect people to show up,” Davis said.

Mitchell said he also thought that not enough publicity was put into getting the tournament.

“I think there should be more flyers or broadcasting to get it noticed around the school and not just in the wellness area,” Mitchell said.

Players also said the sign-up process through the website www.imleagues.com contribute to the lack of involvement by students.

“I strongly dislike the website,” Davis said.

“I could barely find it and I just think there should be an easier way.”

Mitchell concurred.

“I think it’s easier to just sign off on a paper because no one wants to go through the trouble of finding a website.”

Watson said he was not surprised by the shortage of participants.

“We had teams signed up but they didn’t take it seriously,” Watson said.

When asked if he would reschedule the tournament, Watson said no.

“We usually don’t have a tournament in the fall but we usually have a competitive intramural league in the spring so I expect a better turnout next semester.”

Information for intramural and athletic events being held can be found by visiting the Wellness Center’s website at www.occc.edu/RF/wellness or by calling 405-682-1611, ext. 7310.

To contact Brandon Willis, email onlineeditor@occc.edu.