SLAM FEST AT INDIAN PARK THIS WEKKEND

A quiet community park in the heart of Cape Girardeau is going to be transformed this weekend as 100 of the best amateur basketball players in the area descend on Indian Park for the House of Prayer's Slam Fest tournament.

The event, which is in its fifth year, has attracted 10-player teams from as far as North Carolina, St. Louis, Atlanta and Indianapolis to challenge teams from Cape Girardeau, Sikeston, Cairo and Charleston. They will not be competing just for the winners' trophy in the Saturday and Sunday double-elimination tournament, but for pride.

"There's good competition out here," Scott Porter, youth director for House of Prayer and a Slam Fest organizer, said. "People are surprised at how heavy the competition is."

The tournament will kick off both mornings at approximately 7 a.m. and continue until dark, Porter said. The event has drawn as many as 2,000 visitors to tiny Indian Park, located at the corner of Lorimier and Williams streets.

Ike Hammonds of the Cape Girardeau Police Department will be among the officers working Slam Fest and doesn't expect any problems.

"Indian Park has really become the neighborhood park we all wanted it to be," Hammonds said. "The last three years at Slam Fest have been pretty uneventful."

Up to last year, Indian Park was noted for late summer problems including fights and weapons-related violence. But, Hammonds said, those problems have been moving away from the park and this year the police have responded to few calls to that area.

"Some of the guys I used to see playing basketball out at Indian Park are now playing at Arena Park," he said. "We've seen a dramatic change since the end of last summer. Now we see a lot more mothers and kids out enjoying Indian Park."

He added that Slam Fest, being a church-oriented event, has always led to a nice weekend at the park.

Porter credits hard work and quality management for the tournament's reputation.

"We have good refs; it's a good tournament," he said.

The teams play until one side reaches 60 points. There will be a 3-point line and the Missouri high school rules of basketball will apply.

Besides some top-notch games, Porter said there will be concession stands featuring barbecue and sno-cones and a slam-dunk contest that will take place Sunday at 4 p.m. The tournament has a co-sponsor, Schnucks, for the first time this year.