Last Friday, Jan. 2, the crowd became part of the game at Wood River High School.
The Wood River girls' basketball team held its first annual Marathon Game in the Hailey gym as part of a program of team building, community participation and fundraising.
It was 12 hours of fun.
The evening opened with the varsity, junior varsity and freshmen teams each playing 30-minute games against their parents. Games followed matching members of each of the teams versus their siblings, and another game matched the varsity team with high school coaches.
Though the clock ran and score was kept, the purpose of the 12-hour event was to bring players, coaches, families and friends together for a special and entertaining evening.
After the parents and friends departed, the fun continued with a pizza party, more basketball and multiple games such as volleyball, dodgeball and kickball, soccer, capture the flag and badminton.
Though tired after 12 hours of constant activity, the girls slowly departed about 7 a.m. with a positive and unique experience behind them.
The event gathered approximately $4,000 in donations for the Wood River girls' basketball program toward its goal of $8,000 for the season. A special thank-you went out to Power Engineers of Hailey for its $500 donation.
Money raised will help pay for summer basketball camps and tournaments, a new statistics program, new practice gear and the ever-present need for equipment.
