SIDNEY - The 3rd–6th grade youth basketball season tipped off Saturday in Sidney, drawing large crowds and full gyms for the opening weekend of games hosted by the Cheyenne County Community Center.

Teams from Sidney, Bridgeport, Kimball, Chappell and Peetz are competing in this year’s league. Games are scheduled for Nov. 15 and 22, and Dec. 6 and 13, with tipoffs beginning at 8 a.m. each Saturday at West Elementary, the St. Patrick’s Youth Center and The Center. Each site hosts between five and seven games per day, with approximately 70 games slated for the four-week session.

CCCC Sports Director Kendyl Wintholz said the first day of action set a positive tone for the season.

“Today was awesome,” Wintholz said. “Gyms were full. Panhandle Storm Baseball ran concessions with yummy breakfast burritos.”

The season marks one of the busiest stretches of the winter for the Community Center, which coordinates game schedules, site management, officials and team logistics across multiple facilities. The league includes both boys and girls divisions, with teams playing one to two times per week before resuming competition in January as part of a regional travel league.

The Cheyenne County Community Center will conclude its basketball calendar at the end of February with the return of the Youth Classic, a multi-division tournament drawing teams from across western Nebraska, northeast Colorado and eastern Wyoming.

View more photos from the season-opening weekend on The Big Boy Facebook page.