Louisville to host biggest youth girls basketball tournament in the country

By Addie Meiners

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    LOUISVILLE, Kentucky (WLKY) — More than 13,000 young athletes will be visiting the city of Louisville this week for the Run 4 the Roses tournament. It runs July 5 through July 8 at the Kentucky Exposition Center. The tournament is for girls teams aged fourth-grade to 11th-grade.

Executive director of the tournament, Tucker Neale, says teams are coming from 47 different states and more than five different countries, traveling from as far as Australia. That can be attributed to the high college exposure players get as a result of attending the tournament.

“There’s going to be over 1,000 college coaches here from D-1, D-2, D-3, NAIA, Ju-Co, you name it,” Neale said. “You’ve got over 100 media outlets here. ESPN is going to be here for the first time, which is the first time a grassroots basketball tournament for girls has ever been on ESPN.”

The championship game on Friday will be broadcasted on the network.

Ian Cox, spokesperson for Kentucky Venues says the tournament benefits more than just the athletes who are playing.

“This event alone will bring $17.7 million in estimated economic impact,” Cox said. The city will see the financial boost through tourism; from hotels to restaurants to transportation.

Some visitors to the city are getting a chance to see it for the first time while others have watched the tournament grow.

Alex Richman, coach of TNBA out of Houston, Texas, says the tournament gets bigger and bigger every year, which is great for his players.

“It’s a great platform for the girls to get exposure,” Richman said. “And it’s a big eye-opener for our girls. We may be good in Houston, but now we get the chance to go compete against the best girls in the country.”

Head coach from Dayton Andrew Boeke says he was stunned alongside his team when they saw the magnitude of the venue.

“I’ve never seen anything like it!” the coach said. “Courts for miles is what we were joking about.”

However, some teams don’t have to travel to attend the tournament. Kentucky Ice is a new program based in Louisville.

Founder and head coach Glenn Wathen says it’s great for his girls and the state to have a prominent tournament at home.

“We go to Chicago, we go to Columbus, Ohio, we go to Orlando,” Wathen said. “None are like this. It’s pretty special.”

One of Kentucky Ice’s players, Ella Daniels, jokes that it’s just nice to be able to sleep in her own bed, but the best part is getting significant exposure while also being home.

“It’s so cool,” Daniels said. “It’s a really good opportunity for us to stay home but also be able to play in front of all these coaches and meet all these new people.”

Daniels hopes to continue playing basketball in college.

The tournament runs through Friday.

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