A League of ‘JUELS’

FOLLOW Marian Agyei-Gyamera on Twitter @M_Spalding12 & NPH @NORTHPOLEHOOPS 

KITCHENER, ON–This past weekend, the JUEL league held one of its many weekly tournaments in Kitchener/Waterloo. The tournament did not disappoint, as some of the brightest female basketball players came through to showcase their talent.

JUEL of Ontario is a league sanctioned by the Ontario Basketball Association (OBA) looking to provide female ballers under the age of 19 the opportunity to play against the best competition in the province. JUEL commissioner Fergy Neves proposed the idea to the OBA and by December 11th, 2010, 21 teams packed with some of the best players in the province went head to head in a series of games. Neves wanted to create a league that would equip these elite players with the necessary tools they need to be successful in both their athletic careers and life. The JUEL league provides an intense 40 minute game versus the OBA’s 32. This conditions the females for more rigorous game lengths at the post-secondary level.

When asked whether this league would ruin the sense of competitiveness in the U19 OBA league, Neves explained that there would still be a high level of competition because there is still a load of talent available in order to sustain high level play in the OBA league.

The creation of a league like JUEL is definitely receiving complements from players, coaches and fans. JUEL all star player of the game, Kim Pierre-Louis stated “I think what they’re doing with JUEL and the girls in Canada is amazing. Fergy is a really good guy to be setting all of this up and helping girls get exposure and its going to help girls get to that next level.”

The JUEL league also shows how much talent Ontario has to offer to Canadian basketball. It proves that the game is still alive and is headed for success in Canada.

 The Final tournament of the JUEL league will be held on May 6-8th.

For all official scores and game recaps visit The OFFICIAL JUEL website.

Marian Agyei-Gyamera