The teams representing Haida Gwaii at the 2025 Jr. All Native Basketball Tournament recently returned from Kelowna with a strong showing from every team, despite not taking home any championships. In all, there were nine teams from Haida Gwaii in the five divisions this year, including a U17 boys’ team from both Skidegate and Masset, a U17 girls’ team from Masset, a U13 Gold boys’ team from both Skidegate and Masset, a U13 Gold girls’ team from both Masset and Skidegate, and a U13 Silver boys’ team and a girls’ team from Masset.
This year, several new divisions were added to the tournament to add a little more flavour by highlighting the young up-and-comers and giving them the opportunity to experience the mayhem that is “JANT.” The U13 Silver divisions were added to give the young players a chance to play games that weren’t meant to be as competitive, but instead focused on the fun of the game, while the 10-and-under co-ed division was also added to give the young whippersnappers the experience of playing against other villages in front of unfamiliar crowds.
Due to these additional divisions being implemented this year, the tournament boasted 113 teams across all divisions, with a whopping 1,200 players estimated to be participating in this year’s JANT. However, with all of these teams in the tourney, this meant some overlapping games, last-minute venue changes, and travel all around Kelowna to get to the seven different gymnasiums scattered throughout.
Overall, the Haida teams fared well and showed off their talents, but it just wasn’t our year, as the U13 boys from Skidegate and the U10 co-ed and U17 boys’ teams from Masset placed the highest with fourth-place finishes each—thanks to excellent play from guys like Kane Jones on the SKG U13 boys’ team, and Cal Collison and Naden Brown on the U17 Old Massett squad.
The U17 Skidegate boys fought hard and, in some eyes, exceeded expectations after losing three key players—all to right ankle injuries—depleting a roster that was already set to give their starting lineup heavy minutes before all of the injuries. With the “next man up” mentality, the Saints fought hard and clawed their way to fifth place out of an astounding 33 teams in their division.
The U17 girls from Masset, the U13 Gold boys from Masset, U13 Silver boys from Masset, U13 Gold girls from Masset and from Skidegate all also played hard and made their communities proud. With a total of about 100 players and coaches in all, the Haidas left their mark and look to run it back again next year, when the Junior All Native takes place in Langley.
All stars:
2nd team: Logan Jones, Skidegate U17 boys
1st team: Cal Collison and 2nd team: Naden Brown, Old Massett U17 boys
1st team: Justin Edgars, Old Massett U13 gold boys
2nd team: Byron Stevens Jr, Old Massett U13 gold boys
1st team: Derrick John, Old Massett U13 silver boys
Mr Hustle: Cal Collison, Old Masset U17 boys
Mr Hustle: Joel Edgars, Old Massett U13 silver boys