Festival Begins With Basketball

The fanfare of opening ceremonies won’t take place until tonight, but the California State Games quietly began Thursday morning at Santa Margarita High.

At 9 a.m., two girls’ basketball teams opened play in the eighth annual event, which is a nonprofit festival held under the guidance of the U.S. Olympic Committee.

Moorpark defeated Pasadena, 38-22, in the first game of the 13-and-under division, beginning an event that will be hosted by 13 cities in Orange County. Approximately 5,500 athletes, two-thirds of whom are ages 11-18, will participate in 17 sports over the next three days.

Basketball, which has divisions from ages 12 to 17, was the only sport to begin play Thursday. Basketball tournament site director Gary Porter noted that the field won’t feature the most prominent high school prospects, but it will be competitive.

Porter, who coaches with the Modesto Slam ‘N Jam basketball teams, said the California State Games isn’t the only major youth event occurring this weekend. The National Junior Olympic water polo championships in San Jose and another prominent basketball tournament in Las Vegas also are scheduled this weekend.

“Some of the best teams aren’t here,” Porter said, “because the Las Vegas tournament is more established. But the teams don’t come here strictly for the basketball.”

The Northstars, a girls’ 13-and-under team from Torrance, enjoyed last year’s California State Games in San Diego because it was a mini-vacation, assistant coach Ron Elliott said.

“This is kind of the off-season for us, so it’s a little more relaxed too,” Elliott said. “Another reason we came back was for the opening ceremonies. The kids really enjoyed it.”

The Olympic-style ceremony, which features a parade of the athletes--complete with banners--and a torch lighting, begins at 8 p.m. in Cal State Fullerton’s Titan Stadium, which seats 10,000.

“They should fill the place,” Porter said. “The opening ceremonies are really neat and it’s one of the things that sets this apart from other tournaments.”

All the peripheral activities, besides the actual games, make this event special, Porter said.

“We’ve even scheduled the basketball tournament so that every team will have an off-day,” Porter said. “Then, they can take a trip to Disneyland or something.

“Sure, our team still wants to win the tournament, but the kids are here to enjoy the other stuff too.”

Notes

The boys’ basketball tournaments begin today at Mission Viejo High (12 and under, 15 and under), Santa Margarita High (13 and under, 14 and under) and Rancho Santa Margarita Intermediate (12 and under, 17 and under), from 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m. . . . Badminton (Fullerton College), fencing (Oak Middle School, Los Alamitos), field hockey (Cal State Fullerton), boys’ and girls’ soccer (San Juan Capistrano Sports Park) and water polo (Corona del Mar High) begin play today from 9 a.m.-5 p.m.