Every November Chaminade hosts the Maui Invitational basketball tournament. Eight teams from across the United States (including Chaminade) compete this this preseason tournament (the teams playing in this years tournament are below). Since it is hosted by Chaminade, the school give the opportunity to students to fly over to the island Maui to represent Chaminade at one of the games. This always happens on the first day of the tournament, Monday, Maui Monday.

The Teams Playing in the Maui Invitation 2012

This past year I seized the opportunity to fly over to Maui to cheer on our school’s basketball team. The cost of the entire trip was $100 per person and that included: air fare, a sport bag with Chaminade memorabilia, lunch and dinner, and entrance into the game.

We met up at the school in early hours (around 7am, and yes that is early). A bus transported us from Chaminade to the airport, where we boarded a 15 minute flight to Maui. When we arrived in Maui, a bus picked us up and brought us to a local shopping center on the beach. We were given free time to explore the area. Some students had planned ahead and brought swimwear to enjoy the beaches; others of us went shopping; and those like me found a nice patch of grass in the shade and went to sleep. After our free time was over we went to a local restaurant and had lunch (which was paid for by the $100 fee).

Then it was time for the game. The bus pulled up to the Lahaina Civic Center where the tournament was being held. Everyone filed off and started to prepare for the event. People had prepared signs previously and others started to don body paint. When the game started, we stood together int he bleachers and cheered on our boys for the game. The game was full of energy and both the teams were neck and neck for the first half of the game. Sadly, during the second have to opponents started to pull and away and eventually won the game. However, the experience was still worth it.

Special Thanks to the Office of Student Activities and Leadership as well as Mak for putting this together and also for the photos!