Memorial tourney slated

  PRESQUE ISLE, Maine – Students in the Physical Education Majors Club at the University of Maine at Presque Isle are planning the Ruel Parks Memorial 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament the weekend of March 10. The event will serve the primary purpose of raising money for the Ruel Parks Scholarship.
     The tournament features co-ed teams comprised of three to five people ages 17 and over. The cost is $50, $25 of which must be paid by Thursday, March 8 as a pre-registration fee with the balance due the day of the event. Checks and money orders may be mailed to UMPI, Box 436, 181 Main Street, Presque Isle. Please include the name of the team captain with a phone number and e-mail address, names of team members including alternates and the name of the team.
The tournament takes place in Gentile Hall with start times to be determined by the number of teams registered. Organizers hope to attract 10 teams for the event. The top team will be awarded T-shirts.
Money raised goes to the Ruel Parks Scholarship. Parks was a non-traditional student at UMPI studying physical education. He was a member of the golf team and the assistant coach of the women’s basketball team. Tragically, he passed away from a heart attack during the spring of his sophomore year. His fellow students created a scholarship fund in his honor.
“Ruel was a classmate of mine and we worked on several project together,” said Trevor Parent, president of the UMPI Physical Education Majors Club and co-organizer of the tournament. “He was well respected among his fellow students. He was compassionate and made a difference in the lives of not only the women’s basketball team that he worked with but also his classmates. He would have been a great teacher.”
For more information about the tournament, contact Parent at trevor.parent@maine.edu or at 540-1226.