SALEM IS MOPO SPORTS sports in the region Don’t let the slow and friendly pace fool you — the Salem area has some very competitive and high-speed sporting events that will have you on your feet and cheering. Whether you’re into baseball, street b-ball, youth soccer or the thrill of a soapbox derby, round up your own team for some good old-fashioned gameplay. Watch kiddos race their home-built, engineless cars down a 900-foot track at Bush’s Pasture Park during Salem’s Soap Box Derby. Grab a spot on the grass for family fun; the event is free to watch and usually happens Memorial Day weekend. Cheer courtside for the Salem Capitals, a member of The Basketball League (TBL). Founded in 2022, the buzzworthy team plays their home games at the Salem Armory March through May. May through August, catch a Mavericks Independent Baseball League game at Keizer’s Volcanoes Stadium, and watch top undrafted players hit it out of the park. The four-team independent league plays a total of 96 nailbiting games each season. In 2025 the Marion Berries, a new summer collegiate wood-bat league, will throw its first pitch at Willamette University’s downtown baseball field bordering Bush’s Pasture Park. The prime stadium features comfortable seating areas and creative berry-themed concessions. On July 20, 2025, top-of-their-game athletes will compete in IRONMAN 70.3 Oregon. Voted best run experience in the Global IRONMAN Athletes’ Choice Awards, the Salem circuit includes a swim in the Willamette River, a bike ride through wine country and a run that starts at Salem’s Riverfront Park. Three cheers for the Capital Futbol Club, a youthsoccer program that holds top-notch games throughout the year at the Club’s 37-acre soccer complex in Salem. Don’t miss the excitement of the Capital Cup in summer. During the holidays, hit up the Capitol City Classic tourney, Salem’s premier high school basketball event. This is where teams from all over the country show off their skills; see them before they’re drafted into the NBA and WNBA. Grab the crew for a family-friendly roller-derby game at Salem’s Cherry City Roller Derby. With a full-contact competitive team, a recreational team and a junior team, every push-and-shove stadium bout is a hoot. PROFILE JASON UNRUH Salem’s annual Oregon Specialty Group Hoopla tournament is one of the largest 3x3 street-basketball events in the country. Every summer basketball players from all over the Pacific Northwest — and the country — come together to dribble, pass and shoot in the shadow of the Oregon State Capitol. OSG Hoopla celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2024, thanks in no small part to its tournament director, Jason Unruh. Along with his father and a family friend, Unruh started Hoopla in 1999, and he’s still one of the main forces driving the event. He has watched the weeklong tournament grow exponentially, from a 151-team competition in 1999 to including over 1,000 teams in 2024. Today the street b-ball tourney has several different age and skill divisions, free kids’ clinics, shooting contests, and cool prizes like medals and championship jerseys. But for Unruh, OSG Hoopla has always been about more than just the game. To him Hoopla is about community. “Hoopla brings players and spectators together from all over the state and from all ages and economic and ethnic backgrounds,” he says. “Whether you’re a basketball player or not, it’s something that people look forward to every year. It’s like a big, happy family reunion.” OSG Hoopla will hit the Salem streets again in summer, so swing by to watch a few games, listen to music and meet new friends. The event is always a slam dunk. OregonHoopla.com TravelSalem.com 24
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