Hawaiian Way Fund to host tribal basketball tourney

HONOLULU—Players from around the country and Hawaii are gearing up for 3 days of basketball hosted by the Hawaiian Way Fund to raise money for cultural practitioners and to engage in good old fashioned competition. The tournament begins at the King Intermediate School gym in Kaneohe on Friday, August 19, 2011 and ends Sunday, August 21, 2011.

The Hawaiian Way Fund is administered by the nonprofit Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement (CNHA), to support culture, language and Native lifeways.

“This tournament is our favorite fundraiser during the year,” said Lilia Kapuniai, CNHA Vice President.  “It’s a fantastic fellowship of men and women from every walk of life, that are very competitive on the court, and many of them off the court, are incredible advocates of indigenous cultures.”

Seventeen teams are signed up, two from Alaska, six from Indian Country and nine from the Pacific including Hawaii. Many of the teams arrive for the tournament and will stay through the week of August 22, to attend the 10th Annual Native Hawaiian Convention, scheduled through August 25 at the Hawaii Convention Center.

“Over the weekend, a player might be elbowing in the paint, and a couple of days later, he’s the keynote speaker at one of the plenary sessions at the conference,” Kapuniai mused. “It’s really fun, and at the same time, we raise a little bit of money to support the Hawaiian Way Fund.”

Prizes include $2,500 for 1st place and $1,000 for 2nd place in each team division, game MVP T-shirts for every game played and a $500 cash prize for men and women’s 3-point contests. 

Teams that are interested in playing can download registration forms by visiting www.hawaiianwayfund.org or by emailing [email protected], or contacting CNHA at (808) 596-8155.