When Cochrane High decides to host their first provincial senior high basketball tournament, they went full out.

In total, 24 senior boys and girls teams from across Alberta are here to vie for the top prizes in 3A high school basketball. Play started this morning at 9 a.m. and continues until the finals on Saturday night. They take a break for the opening ceremonies today at 1:30 p.m. at Cochrane High before returning to the court.

The senior girls' Cobras play their first game this morning at 9 a.m. and the boys are 10:45 a.m. both in the Cochrane High gym.

The four top-ranked teams in each division get a bye from round one while the others will battle it out to survive that round for a crack at the title. It's a single knock out tournament, although there is a consolation event. Both Cobras are part of the tournament by virtue of being the host but don't sell them short.

"Our boys and our girls are automatically in, although they are both very good teams that probably deserve to be in the tournament anyway," says committee member Doug Jensen.

Hosting a provincial championship for one division, let alone two, is a challenge and it takes numerous courts to make it possible. Besides Cochrane High, games are also being played at Bow Valley and St. Timothy high schools and the Mitford Middle School.

"This is the first time we've done basketball provincials and being the first time around we decided to do both boys and girls, which makes things a little more challenging," says Jensen. "There's a lot of extra jobs that go into running a provincial tournament compared to running a normal tournament."

"The plans have been in place for a year now and we've been building as we go. The last month has been relatively hectic."

About 150 volunteers are a crucial ingredient in making the event a success and that includes everything from manning the gates, score keeping, sweeping the floors and live stream.

"We've had huge buy-ins from all department in our school. We have everything from arts to learning support and instruction and leadership helping out. It's a great way to make connections through a whole bunch of departments."

The support from other Cochrane schools has also been huge, says Jensen.

They've also received a $10,484 Community Initiative Program grant from the Alberta Government to help add some important touches.

"It allows us to do a few extra things in the tournament to spruce it up to make it a special experience for the visiting teams and our town as well."

The Cobras are also appreciative of the major support they have received from Big Chief, Cochrane Movie House, Spray Lakes Sports Centre, Spray Lakes Sawmill and Ink'd Graphics.

 The end result will be an incredible weekend of basketball.

"Some of the best basketball teams around the province are here. It's going to be a blast."

Day passes are just $10 for adults and $5 for students/seniors. You can take in the whole event for a mere $20 for adults or $10 for students/seniors.

Both finals are on Saturday with the girls game at 5:30 p.m.and the boys at 7:30 p.m.

The games are being live streamed and you can find game links here.