Tuesday afternoon, six teams took to the floor of the Cugnet Centre to compete in an annual tournament organized by teacher Bryan Fleck. The tchoukball tournament would run for the afternoon, with the proceeds from the tournament going to Canadian Mental Health Association - Weyburn Branch.

First, the question is, what is tchoukball?

“Tchoukball is a game, I think the French started, I don’t know if it was out in Quebec or somewhere, but basically you’re trying to throw a ball off a trampoline so it hits the floor to score and to stop somebody from scoring, you try to catch the ball off the trampoline,” explained Fleck.

The students embraced the game, which is played as part of the physical education classes. To prepare for the tournament, they all had team uniforms, unique and colourful team names, and a spirit to compete for a good cause.

The teams all paid $5 per person to enter, with a total of $240 raised for CMHA - Weyburn. Fleck said in previous years, the money from the tournament has gone to the MS Society, but he wanted to change things this year.

“We’ve focused on that a lot in health this year,” he related during a pause in the tournament. “I think some of our students have been struggling as far as mental health, and we’ve been doing a pretty good job of trying to teach our kids the importance of mental health and being mentally healthy, and so we just thought it would be fitting this year to donate to them.”

This is the tenth year Fleck has organized a fundraiser tchoukball tournament for Grade 9 students in Weyburn.

WCS Teacher Bryan Fleck presented Tasha Collins from CMHA - Weyburn with a $240 check after the tournament Tuesday. They are surrounded by the participants in the tournament. (photo submitted by Bryan Fleck)