For the first time in the four decades that Glen Klein has been running summer basketball tournament everything is inside this weekend for his Cedar Beach Showcase. Talk about good timing. With temperatures soaring into the upper 90s and heat indexes hitting three digits, it was tough to spend any amount of time outside on Saturday, much less try to play basketball on the hot macadam.
So, while originally many may have lamented that the Cedar Beach Showcase was no longer at Cedar Beach where fans could monitor four games at one time without having to go far, no one was griping about it on Saturday. “It’s relaxing, it’s enjoyable in here,” Klein said. “Its a great place to sit down and watch a game.
” It’s questionable whether or not the tournament would have been allowed to continue outdoors in such conditions. Heat exhaustion and dehydration are always a concern at this time of year for athletes and non-athletes, especially the elderly. A few players have needed some medical attention caused by dehydration over the years.
The weather could come into play again when the A-Town Throwdown, the summer’s second major high school basketball tournament, takes place at Cedar Beach the weekend of July 25-28. But for this weekend, being in the air-conditioned gyms in three different buildings on the Whitehall-Coplay School District campus has been a godsend. “It’s brutal outside,” said Nazareth coach Joe Arndt.
“I was sweating just walking from the parking lot t.
