Allow me to explain that fishy headline.

 

A few weeks ago a select crew of Kelowna-based senior basketball officials were offered a two-day weekend (Friday + Saturday) assignment in Salmon Arm, BC. It was first come-first served at the 2016 Salmon Arm Nugget Invitational at Salmon Arm Secondary School high above Shuswap Lake.

 

 

 

 

 

Never in my officiating career did I imagine working games in an outpost called Salmon Arm?! Cool name. Cool chance to explore the North Okanagan. I was intrigued by this résumé-enhancing opportunity, so I joined fellow zebra Dave Biagi and together we made the 75-minute trek north from the Central Okanagan. Another local official, Barry Lutz, also joined the hardwood gym-boree.

 

 

 

Our host and game scheduler was Bruce Weicker – a retired teacher and principal. On Saturday morning, he handed me his business card. Turns out Bruce currently is President of the Shuswap Lifeboat Society and member of the Royal Canadian Marine Search & Rescue team. Ah yes, living in a tight-knit hamlet means you wear lots of hats (or toques, as they call winter headwear in Canada).

Salmon Arm is one beach-resort extremity of Shuswap Lake. Shuswap Lake consists of four arms that form a letter H shape. The four arms are Salmon Arm (southwest), Anstey Arm (northeast), Seymour Arm (north), and the main lake (west). One of the tributary rivers is the Salmon River. Bruce says for about two weeks in late September there’s a spectacular salmon run on the river that attracts provincial and international audiences.

 

 

This hoops hot stove was no fishing expedition. Dave and I each were assigned five senior boys games. As expected, it was run run run sandwiched between whistles for fouls and violations. Five games in 28 hours was a challenging task – we brought our A games and controlled the court. The good news is that we were invited back in 2017. The better news is that we were treated like kings (more thanks to SA senior boys coach Rhys Waters) and paid on the spot.

Many thanks to Bruce for feeding and letting us bunk overnight on Friday at his hillside villa. Final report card – my first upstream adventure into Salmon Arm was an Omega-3 fatty acids A+ winner.