St. Louis area kids call participate in a lot of Middle School Madness events in March.

The deadline for kids’ poster and essay contests is Thursday, March 15. That’s also the deadline for nominations for the kids’ sports writing seminar. 

On Thursday, March 29, kids and the general public are invited to an open practice for Women’s Final Four teams at the SAVVIS Center. That’s when kids can get autographs of their favorite players. 

On Saturday, March 31, there are Youth Education Through Sports (YES) clinics at five different St. Louis-area locations. College coaches and student-athletes will lead a variety of skill and conditioning activities. 

The five locations are the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Center in East St. Louis and the Mathews-Dickey Boys and Girls Club in St. Louis as well as Saint Louis University, University of Missouri-St. Louis and Washington University.

Also, on Saturday, kids are invited to a college women’s all-star game. The WBCA All-Star Challenge will feature players from NCAA Division I, II and III. You need tickets for this game. Ticket information can be gotten at (314) 935-6543 or at (770) 279-8027. 

Another Saturday public event is the March to the Arch. This involves hundreds of kids and adults dribbling basketballs on Market Street from SAVVIS Center to Keiner Plaza.

The final big event for Middle School Madness kids will be Hoop City March 30-April 1 at the America’s Center. This is called an interactive fan festival. You need tickets for this event also. 

Among Hoop City events are: 

• A NCAA Basketball 3-on-3 Tournament
• Basketball dunking trials, with hoops at five different heights
• An ESPN Fantasy Sportcenter Anchor competition
• Performances by Women’s Final Four team bands, cheerleaders and mascots
• Various tests of your basketball footwork skills.

Beth Reuther is the program manager for the Middle School Madness program. She said schools get mailings concerning the various events. Also, individuals can get information by calling the Final Four office at (314 621-2307).

Also, you can get information about the whole Women’s 2001 Final Four program by logging on to www.stl2001finalfour.org.