Showdown at high noon

Second year Chemistry student Amir Toulany has been enjoying Noon Hoops regularly since he first began playing in Grade 12 (Nick Pearce photo)

It’s 11:25 a.m. at the fieldhouse at Dalplex. The basketball court that was empty just moments ago has filled up with about a dozen or so men. This number can double or triple during the school year, I’m told. From a glance, they range in age from their late teens to their 70’s. Almost instinctively when 11:30 hits, an older gentleman splits the group up into four teams.

Two teams of four head down to the other end of the court, while the remaining men stay. There will be two games today. On both sides, half of the men have taken off their shirts – a classic game of shirts versus skins. “Check!” yells a player and both games start. Instantly, the noise of squeaky sneakers against the wooden court floor fills the fieldhouse.
 
Noon Hoops is a staple in the day for most of the players. Computer science student Justin Joyce, 31, has been playing Noon Hoops since 1996 and plays pretty much five days a week. Mr. Joyce participates in Noon Hoops for the love of the game and the fact that it melts stress away. “I couldn’t live without it,” he says.

Noon Hoops was founded in 1970 by Sandy Young, a sports history professor, and Herb Gamberg, sociology professor. Their concept of the game boiled down to one word: seniority. Teams are divided up by the eldest player and calls are clarified by the eldest player. This concept has drawn participants to Noon Hoops for the past 39 years. Games are played in a circuit style fashion – the first team to eleven points wins, with the losing team moving down a court to face the winning team of that court.

Walt Finden (centre), a math professor at Saint Mary's University, has been playing noon hoops for about 25 years. (Nick Pearce photo)

James Walker has been playing Noon Hoops for 36 years. He says that most basketball teams around Halifax tend to stack their roster with the best players and end up winning all the time. This is not the case with Noon Hoops. Having the player who has been around the longest pick the teams ensures that the teams are balanced with a mix of abilities, whether they’re a Level 1 athlete (midget or jr. high skill level) or a Level 3 (players of a university varsity caliber).

“It’s very unique,” says Barry Gamberg, 64, brother of Noon Hoops co-founder Herb Gamberg. “There is nothing else like it in North America that I know of…it’s the only place where all ages can play together.” Dr. Gamberg started playing Noon Hoops when it first began in 1970, but moved to Montreal to practice medicine shortly thereafter. When he retired to Nova Scotia three years ago, he immediately got back into the game.

The competition can be tough – Mr. Joyce describes overtime games getting as intense as some NBA finals (just with less dunking). But it’s all in good fun. “You see guys leave Halifax for years and years, but when they come back to Noon Hoops some of they're still part of the Noon Hoops family,” says Herb Gamberg, who hasn’t stopped playing Noon Hoops since he started it in 1970. “There is a real sense of comradery.”

Noon Hoops is played Monday to Friday in the Dalplex fieldhouse from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Players of all ability are welcomed to join. For more information check out http://www.athletics.dal.ca/ or http://www.basketball.ns.ca/halifax/