By Joseph Gex III/Sports Writer

and Curtis Rockwell/Sports Director

BAY ST. LOUIS — For most of the past three decades, the Bay High Basketball Christmas Tournament was a mainstay in hoops circles in South Mississippi.
But, it appears that the annual affair is no more. At least for this season.
The current Bay High basketball schedule lists no tournament for the Tigerdome slated for this season. Instead, the Bay High boys are headed to a tournament out of state while the Lady Tigers will compete in the Jackson County Christmas Tournament in Ocean Springs.

In what had been its current form, the Bay High Christmas Tournament dates back to 1998.
“The past couple of years there has been a smaller count of teams in the tournament,” second-year Tigers head coach Aaron Dunklin said Monday afternoon. “We have had instances where teams would commit and then back out at the last minute that hindered us from filling that spot with a suitable opponent, or in some instances, not at all. Furthermore, the availability of officials is also an on-going concern when it comes to having a two-day tournament. We have decided to shelve the tournament for this year and continue to look for opportunities to successfully bring it back in the future.”

The Bay High Christmas Tournament was a long-standing holiday tradition played the week between Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. This season would have marked the 29th annual event.
Originally, it was a two-day affair that transitioned into a three-day event for a while as well. More recently, it had moved back to a two day tourney that usually featured six boys teams and and four-to-six girls squads as well.
It usually produced about 10 games per year with a heavily flavored “Southern Six” field with participants from all six of the southernmost counties in the state over the past three decades.