OPTIMIST BASKETBALL CATERS TO WIDE RANGE

If high school sports are a little too competitive for your taste, there is an alternative in Cape Girardeau.

The Evening Optimists sponsor a church basketball league for boys in the second through 12th grades.

The league begins in early January and concludes in early March. Games are played on eight consecutive Saturdays.

Chapman said the league is the largest of its kind in the area.

"This year we had 67 teams and 651 players," said league director Steve Chapman. "So it is the dominant youth basketball league in Cape Girardeau."

Games are played at seven sites in the city, including four churches and three elementary schools.

The second and third grade and the fourth and fifth grade divisions are perennially the largest. They are open to all boys, while the junior high and high school age groups are open to those who don't participate in school-sponsored basketball.

"It's alternative for those who don't choose to participate in varsity or junior varsity high school basketball," Chapman said.

The league is competitive and ends with a post-season tournament.

"We keep records for the teams and we finish the season with a tournament," said Chapman. "We narrow the teams down to 56 for the tournament, and it is played on the final Saturday from 8 a.m. to around 9 p.m."

Chapman wasn't sure when the league originated, but he said the Noon Optimist Club began 70 years ago and one coach in the league has been involved for at least 34 years.