The high school city league basketball season is here with a whopping 37 teams participating. This year looks to be bringing a lot of competition and friendly rivalry between LOHS and LHS students.

This year the registration process was changed to make it easier for players to pay and play; however, with a new online registration process there was a lot of trial and error.

“This being the first time we have used the new online registration and payment program, we experienced some glitches,” said Lake Oswego city league/sports registrator Jeana Ostrander. “When trying to correct the problems we were experiencing, it ended up not charging players when they registered, so that created a little work in trying to contact everyone to get payment.”

The payment problem only occurred for a couple days and everything has been fixed and working as planned.

City league basketball consists of three different divisions: Girls 9-12 with 11 teams, boys 9/10 with 6 teams, and a 11/12 boys division with 20 teams. Teams will play each team in their division, including teams from their own school.

For many, city league gets very competitive and for others it’s just a thing to do to be with friends.

“I participate in city league because it gives me a great window to forget about school and just play basketball with my friends like the old days,” said senior Graham Leib.

The LHS senior has been playing for two years and is hoping for a better turnout than last year. Leib will be playing for Team Maroon along with fellow senior Matt Givan.

“This year will be more competitive and fun because of the teams,” said Givan. “We have two power-house teams in the senior class so it should be fun this year.”

The girl’s league also has a few returning teams ready to play their way into the championships.

“It gets pretty competitive towards the end of the season,” said senior Hanna Knouf. “Our last game was a playoff game. The game went into overtime and everyone was super into it.”

This will be Knouf’s second season playing with The Avengers. She plays city league for fun and enjoys the extra workout.

Games are once a week and played at either LOJ or LJH. The games are in the evening on weekdays to make it easier for all members to attend after practices and school related activities. It allows students to participate even if they are involved in a winter sport. Even junior Morgan Kaye has been able to participate while training for track season. She has been playing for three years now and has been able to make many memories.

“My favorite memory was freshmen year when Kelly Landreth scored on our own basket and had a huge celebration after,” said Kaye. “But everyone else knew she didn’t actually score the right basket.”

City League practices start this weekend for teams allowing them to gear up and prepare for the season. This year should be fun and competitive for members and spectators. Make sure to catch a game or two and cheer on friends.

League schedules are found at www.ci.oswego.or.us/parksrec/high-school-basketball