Chris Wiggins, shown in his office at Lake City Bank in Warsaw, heads the Warsaw Breakfast Optimist Club’s Tri-Star Basketball Competition set for Feb. 2.

WARSAW – Growing up in Warsaw, Chris Wiggins had a love for athletics, namely basketball. His skill in the sport led him to North Carolina’s Gardner-Webb University on a basketball scholarship. After graduation, Wiggins returned to Warsaw and coached on the side. He became the junior varsity assistant basketball coach at Warsaw Community High School through 2008.

Although he doesn’t have much time to play basketball anymore — now having two young children with wife, Sarah — Wiggin’s passion for the sport has led him to oversee the Warsaw Breakfast Optimist Club’s annual Tri-Star Basketball Competition for the last four years. This free event for boys and girls ages 8-13 will be held Saturday, Feb. 2.

“I participated in this same event when I was growing up, eventually going to the state competition,” said Wiggins, who is the son of former Warsaw mayor Ernie Wiggins as well as assistant vice president of commercial banking at Lake City Bank in Warsaw. “The event takes about an hour. The first 100 kids will get a free T-shirt and those coming in first through third place in each age group are awarded with trophies. The kids’ eyes really light up. It’s a fun time.”

The event will take place at the Baker Youth Club (765 West Market Street in Warsaw) with registration starting at 9:30 a.m. and the event beginning at 10 a.m.

First place finishers in each age group (both boys and girls divisions) will represent their community at the regional competition in Warsaw the following weekend. Winners in the regional competition are eligible to participate in the state competition held in New Castle.

The Tri-Star Basketball Competition consists of three skills: dribbling, passing and shooting. For the dribbling portion, the participant dribbles through cones for time; for the passing portion, the participant throws three bounce passes and three chest passes at a target; and for the shooting portion, the participant shoots free throws and shots from the block just outside the three second lane.

This event is one of the many ways the Warsaw Breakfast Optimist Club gives back to the youth of the community, said Wiggins, who is on the club’s board of directors. Each summer, the Optimists also hold a golf outing, triathlon and car show to raise funds for the community’s youth.
“It’s a fun, free event for the kids,” said Wiggins. “Steve Hollar of ‘Hoosiers’ fame is our emcee for the event and the kids really get excited to meet him.”

For more information on the Tri-Star Basketball Competition, call Wiggins at (574) 265-8610.