Storm Cancels Coleman Tournament

BERLIN- Last weekend’s snowstorm forced the cancellation of the annual John Coleman Tournament, which was scheduled to be hosted by the Stephen Decatur girls’ varsity basketball team this week.

The Seahawks were set to host the annual John Coleman Tournament this week, featuring the three public high school teams in Worcester County along with three at-large invitees, but Mother Nature had other ideas. School officials decided on Monday to cancel the event, which was set to take place over three days from Tuesday to Thursday, after a winter storm dumped over a foot of snow on the region. The safety of players and fans attempting the attend the three-day event was the reason given for the cancellation.

The annual tournament, named for long-time Worcester County Public Schools Administrator John Coleman, has become one of the highlights of the holiday basketball tournament schedule over the years. After departing from its original format for a few years, the tournament returned to tradition last year with the county’s three public high schools squaring off against three at-large invitees. This year’s tournament was supposed to feature host Decatur, Snow Hill and Pocomoke facing Indian River from Delaware, and North Hampton and Arcadia from Virginia.

In the beginning, the Coleman Tournament featured both the boys’ and girls’ varsity teams from the three public high schools in the county along with an at-large invitee. Several years ago, the format changed to feature the boys’ and girls’ teams in alternating years with the host site rotating between Decatur, Snow Hill and Pocomoke. This year was going to be the Decatur girls’ chance to host the tournament before the snowstorm wiped out the event.