Silver Hoops needs you!

KELLOGG — Volunteers and vendors, your assistance is needed!

The Silver Hoops 3-on-3 basketball tournament is just two weeks away and organizers are panicking a bit due to a low number of committed volunteers and food and drink vendors.

The annual tournament usually attracts around 1,000 people into the area for the weekend event, be it players and their friends and families.

Volunteers are needed for a myriad of things to make the event go smoothly, including handling the set-up, registration, updating brackets, court monitoring, and even a cleanup crew.

As for vendors, the event usually features several food and drink vendors who post up along the Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes.

Tournament organizers try to feature a wide variety of food, ranging from Asian cuisine, all the way to simple grab and go snacks and drinks.

“We need a couple more groups — with parental supervision,” said longtime Silver Hoops organizer Karen Hulstrom. “We always need court monitors, but that takes a special person willing to do it. Besides that, we need help setting up, tearing down and a lot of garbage pickup throughout the event and passing out water to the volunteers.”

Silver Hoops has always tried to be an event that promotes the Silver Valley community as well as gives back to that community, and in the spirit of giving back they offer grant monies to organizations who commit to large portions of the volunteer work.

“We are in desperate need of volunteers for this year's event,” Hulstrom said. “If there are any nonprofits or youth groups looking to earn money, we do give away grants.”

In the past groups like DC or Bust, individual senior classes, and youth groups have signed up to handle a certain number of volunteer hours during the event and their efforts have been rewarded with thousands of dollars.

For more information, or to sign up as a volunteer or vendor, please contact the Silver Valley Chamber at 208-784-0821.

Registration is also open for teams right now.

Silver Hoops 3-on-3 is July 24-25 at Teeters Field next to Kellogg City Park.