Thursday marks the first day of the 56th annual Bedford Road Invitiational Tournament, better known as BRIT. It is one of the most prestigious high school boys’ basketball tournaments in Western Canada.

This year’s tournament will feature 12 teams from various places across the country, including Calgary, Vancouver and Winnipeg.

Bedford Road Collegiate Guard Abu Ahmad says his team is excited to take on the elite competition and believes they can have some success in front of the home crowd.

“The competition level is very high this year. We’re looking to compete with our first game against Dakota, it’s the number one ranked team in Manitoba. After that, we’re looking to slug one out like last year in the 12:30 game in front of that crowd.”

While the exciting competition between talented teams is part of what makes BRIT special, the event is also entirely community-led, meaning students get the opportunity to step up and take on important roles in the tournament.

“It really gets our whole school community involved, so everybody volunteers from taking pictures, being a BRIT host, volunteering for concession,” says Hannah Meguro, who is a student and Bedford Road Collegiate and a BRIT Host. “So it really, within our school, brings our school community together and also a bunch of teams from Saskatoon are also playing, so students from those schools come to watch as well and it really brings our community together.”

Meguro says that by taking on these roles, students are able to lean new skills that they may not have had before.

“Public speaking is probably one of them, because you are speaking in front of some of the largest crowds you’ve ever probably seen as a 17 year old, and interviews, so it’s definitely something that takes you out of your comfort zone.”

BRIT will tip off with a girl’s showcase game at 12:30 p.m. and runs until January 10th.