Buckets and Bibles: Annual 3x3 Basketball tournament fosters healthy relationships
Story shared by Judith Otto, Community Development Worker
Since 2017, the Jane and Finch community has gathered for the Heart 2 Soul Fest community event. Starting in 2018 the event has taken place at James Cardinal McGuigan Catholic High School. It was decided that starting in 2022 the Heart 2 Soul Fest would become a bi-annual event instead of an annual one. Every year since the inception of the festival, a 3 on 3 Basketball tournament has been a part of the on-site activities. For this year 2025 which was an “off year” for the festival, it was decided by the YU Jane Finch Team to still do the basketball tournament component of the festival. So for the first time ever, the Heart 2 Soul 3 on 3 Basketball tournament occurred as a stand alone event.
The annual competition has gained momentum in recent years as more and more young people from the community form teams and flood to compete for prizes—and sometimes just for fun—in the local gym. On July 26, 77 athletes showed up ready to show off their skill.
2025 marks the first year with four divisions of play. There was a junior group aged 11-14, a high school group for 15-18 year olds, a young adults group for 19-29, and—new this year—a girls division for 15-18 year olds.
Judith Otto, a Youth Unlimited Community Development staff member in Jane-Finch faithfully plans this event year after year. She has a heart for this community and especially for the young people who call it home. She believes that the well-being of every young person is dependent on a healthy community and a healthy community can be created by a caring community. She has seen first hand that when someone takes interest in you, it makes you feel good and allows you to soar to amazing heights.
This year, Judith made a small addition to the tournament: a table with Bibles on it - 42 small pocket-sized ones and six full-sized. The youth were encouraged to help themselves, but she purposely didn’t hand the Bibles out. She wanted each young person to make the choice if they wanted to receive a copy of God’s Word.
The tournament was a huge success, once again. Filled with competition, excitement, and excellent play. But, the moment from the event that sticks with Judith aside from the many grateful parents who vocalized their appreciation, is that table of Bibles. After everyone was gone, she went over to count what was left. Six youth took the full-sized copies, while 18 of the smaller Bibles also found a new home.
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