Girls Traveling Basketball
Welcome to the 2024-2025 Season for the St. Louis Park Girls Basketball Association (SLPGBA)!
We offer a fun and competitive basketball program to any girl who attends school in the St. Louis Park School District, attends a private school and lives in St. Louis Park, or meets other eligibility criteria. At all levels, focus is on player development, and enjoyment of the game.
Ages
What aged players are appropriate for this program?
A: Our program is open to all SLP girls grade 3-7, and all skill levels are welcome. Players will be placed on a team of similarly skilled teammates and will participate in appropriate tournament levels (A,B or C). Please note, if there are not enough participants, we will create a solely 3rd grade team. If not, 3rd graders will be placed on a 4th grade team, space permitting.
When
What time of the year does this program run?
A: Our season typically runs from the middle of October and runs through the annual MYAS Grade State Tournament in or around the first week of March.
TOURNAMENTS
How many tournaments will they play? What days of the week?
A: All games are played on the weekends as part of tournaments ( no weeknight games). Tournaments will begin in early to mid-November. We are anticipating the following number of tournaments for each grade. Noe that this is a tentative plan, and subject to change and tournament availability:
3rd-5th grade: 7 tournaments
6th grade: 8-9 tournaments
7th grade: 9-10 tournaments
Tournaments are located within 15 to 45 minutes of St. Louis Park and do not require overnight stays. A Depending on circumstances and team preferences, we may schedule an additional tournament (e.g., in St. Cloud) that involves an overnight stay.
Teams typically play 3 to 4 games at each tournament. Tournaments may be 1 day (could be Sat or Sun) or span the full weekend. We will communicate as soon as we know which type of tourney it is.
PRACTICES
When are practices and how often are they?
A: Teams typically practice 2 times per week between Monday and Thursday at SLP schools. Some practices may be scheduled on Fridays, Saturdays, or Sundays. Practices will begin at 6:00 or 7:30 p.m. generally last 90 minutes. While days, times, and locations can vary, we plan to keep practice schedules as consistent as possible.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you offer scholarships?
We will offer scholarships to eligible families that reduce registration fees between 50%-100%. Scholarships have historically been awarded based on eligibility for participation in the Free and Reduced Lunch Program. Eligible families will be provided a scholarship code to be applied during the online registration process. All scholarship requests need to be made in advance of registering online and registration needs to be complete prior to the first day of tryouts. Players not registered will not be placed on a team. To request a scholarship code, please contact oriole.girls.basketball@gmail.com
How do you set your fees?
We work hard to keep the cost of our program affordable and provide the best value for our families. Here are a few details to help you understand how our fees are set:
- Financial assistance is available for families that are unable to manage the fees.
- Our participation fees only cover our operating costs. The major items included in these operating costs are registration for all tournaments, gym time for practices (a substantial amount given a season that lasts more than three months), equipment, insurance, coaches and financial assistance / scholarship programs.
- Tournaments are costly. Most tournaments are moving or have moved to a “no fee” model for spectators to simplify game-day entry. This model essentially removes the gate fee for spectators to attend a tournament. Given that tournaments have historically had gate fees of $5-$8 per person per day, the tournament hosts have dramatically increased registration costs to recoup those losses.
- In addition to registering for the tournaments, our participation fees are based on a minimum of two practices per week for the entirety of the three-plus month season. The season typically begins mid-October and runs through early March (depending on grade). This equates to roughly 20-30 practices for our teams and the accompanying gym reservations.
- We continually monitor the participation fees of other communities and have historically been lower or similar in cost.
Who is eligible to play SLP Girls Traveling Basketball?
Any girl who attends school in the St. Louis Park School District, attends a private school and lives in St. Louis Park, or meets other eligibility criteria can play.
MN Youth Basketball Alliance Eligibility Criteria
What costs beyond registration should I expect?
Additional team costs may apply throughout the season. These may include but are not limited to hotel costs for out of town tournaments, other group activities, etc. These additional costs will always be optional for players.
Will my player need to buy a jersey?
You only need to buy a jersey if you are new to the basketball program or if you need a replacement jersey. The full uniform cost is $100.
2024-2025 Season
Registration is closed for the 2024/25 season.