
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, July 18, 1994                   TAG: 9407180100
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: B-7   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: SCOTT BLANCHARD STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

VAS WANTS TO UPGRADE ITS BASKETBALL COMPETITION

Pete Lampman, the president of Virginia Amateur Sports, said Commonwealth Games officials will look into staging an all-star basketball tournament for 16- and 17-year-old boys, which would provide a high-visibility event that could draw numerous college recruiters.

The baseball all-star format annually draws dozens of pro scouts, offering players three days of exposure they would not otherwise have.

The boys' basketball competition at the Games features organized teams from across the state as opposed to all-star groups.

"The biggest thing is to find contacts outside the Roanoke Valley," Lampman said. "We'll brainstorm with them and [see] where they're going, see if that's something we want to do."

Another idea, Lampman said, is to hold a qualifying event in 17-under basketball and bring a 16-team field to Roanoke for the Games tournament.

Lampman said this year's basketball competition provided "probably our biggest improvement," and he credited the work of co-coordinators Joe Gaither and David Carter, who work with local basketball organizations.

\ NUMBERS: A Sunday night estimate of Games athletes indicated the Games set a participation record for the fifth consecutive year. Lampman's math totaled about 7,500 athletes.

Record numbers in softball, basketball, track, bowling (141) and two-on-two volleyball - which boasted 286 players - helped. The Games totaled 4,465 competitors in '90, 5,676 in '91, 6,544 in '92 and 6,692 last year.

\ ABSENTEE MEDICINE: The Games' track and field competition was left without on-site medical personnel for about three hours Saturday, but the Games' medical services director, Dr. John Heil, said competitors would have received prompt treatment had there been an injury.

A medical services volunteer left the track competition at Glenvar High School around 1 p.m. Saturday, a Games track volunteer said. Heil said track was a priority sport that was to have constant medical staff on site.

But, Heil said, the Games' medical services are set up so help is nearby. Rescue vehicles, he said, were on alert for the Games.

When it was discovered track had nobody on site, a medical-staff rover was dispatched to Glenvar. That person was a paramedic, Heil said.

In addition, Heil said, coordinators are instructed on how to use medical kits available at each site.

"Rescue vehicles were quite close by that would've been able to get there," Heil said. "Nobody was in jeopardy in any sense."

Asked if Games officials were worried about the possibility of a lawsuit, Heil said: "We're not concerned with getting stuck with the bill. We're concerned with providing good medical coverage."

by CNB