Wednesday, January 16, 2019, St. Thomas– Virgin Islands high school basketball teams are officially starting the 2019 season with the 26th annual IAA/McDonald’s MLK Jr. Invitational Basketball Tournament. The event begins Friday, January 18th at 4:30pm in the Ivanna Eudora Kean High School gymnasium and concludes Monday, January 21st with back-to-back playoff games to determine tournament winners. Adding to the excitement, the 2018 winners, Education Complex boys will be vying to keep their titles.
The competition will be fierce, as teams from St. Thomas and St. Croix battle against visiting teams from the British Virgin Islands. The tournament will host local high school teams from Charlotte Amalie, Antilles, St. Peter and Paul, All Saints and Ivanna Eudora Kean from St. Thomas. And Central High, Educational Complex, and Free Will Baptist from St. Croix. Visiting teams from the British Virgins Islands are Bregado Flax, Elmore Stoutt and VI Tech. The tournament will feature eleven male teams and three female teams from the territory.
McDonald’s stepped up as the title tournament sponsor for the fifth consecutive year in partnership with the St. Thomas-St. John Interscholastic Athletic Association (IAA). Marisol Vega Couto, Managing Director for McDonald’s Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands is proud to support the competition. “We look forward to this event each year. This long-standing event brings the community together in support of our student athletes and healthy sportsmanship. As a family restaurant, McDonald’s supports and encourages participation in youth sports activities.”
McDonald’s is offering an added incentive for the tournament winning teams. $2,000 will be given to each of the two winning athletic departments for the purchase of equipment and supplies. McDonald’s and the IAA will also be recognizing and rewarding two participating student athletes with the highest academic scores.
Mark Daniel, IAA President for the U.S. Virgin Islands, is thankful for the corporate support. “We appreciate the continued partnership with McDonald’s for this annual tournament. Without the support from businesses like McDonald’s we would not have the funds to put on a multi-island tournament of this caliber. It is important for our student athletes have an opportunity to put their skills to the test to launch their basketball seasons and garner the attention of university talent scouts to advance their academic and athletic futures.”
IAA/McDonald’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Invitational Basketball Tournament games start 5pm Friday evening, January 18th and continues daily 9am-10pm throughout the weekend with championship games scheduled for Monday, January 21st at 10am for the girls’ game, with the boys’ game to follow. All games will be held at the Ivanna Eudora Kean gymnasium on St. Thomas.
For more information, contact Basketball Commissioner Kenny Todman at (340)-642-2156.
pdf IAA McDonald's MLK Jr Basketball Tournament Schedule (249 KB)
About Arcos Dorados
Arcos Dorados is the world’s largest independent McDonald’s franchisee in terms of systemwide sales and number of restaurants, operating the largest quick service restaurant (“QSR”) chain in Latin America and the Caribbean. It has the exclusive right to own, operate and grant franchises of McDonald’s restaurants in 20 Latin American and Caribbean countries and territories, including Argentina, Aruba, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Curaçao, Ecuador, French Guyana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Puerto Rico, St. Croix, St. Thomas, Trinidad & Tobago, Uruguay and Venezuela. The Company operates or franchises over 2,100 McDonald’s-branded restaurants with over 90,000 employees and is recognized as one of the best companies to work for in Latin America. Arcos Dorados is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: ARCO). To learn more about the Company, please visit the Investors section of our website:www.arcosdorados.com/ir
###