SMUS INVITATIONAL – FACT FILE
- The Invitational was first played in January 1987. Cariboo Hill was the inaugural winner.
- In 1998, the Invitational was played twice, once in January and then eleven months later, in December of the 98-99 school year, to accommodate a new slot in the school sporting calendar.
- The Invitational was not held in either 2007-08 or 2008-09 as the SMUS gym underwent a period of reconstruction.
- Teams from Australia, California, Washington, Ontario, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and BC have competed in the event.
- 64 different schools have competed in the Invitational in the past 22 years.
- SMUS (5), Oak Bay (4) and Dover Bay (3) have won the most Invitational titles.
- Ladysmith and East Glen have each been named the Most Sportsmanlike team on three occasions.
- Former Invitational Most Valuable Player winners have included
- Tony Bryce – 1990 (now head coach at Vancouver Island University of the BCCAA)
- Chris Trumpy – 1999 (Oak Bay and subsequent two time All Canadian at UVIC)
- Matt Kuzminski – 2003 and 2004 (Dover Bay; and the only two time Invitational MVP. Now starring for SFU)
- Danny Boticki – 1998 (SMUS and Idaho State)
- Adrian Hernandez – 2006 (Mission Prep and Tulsa)
SMUS players who have been named the Invitational Most Valuable Player are:
- Milan Uzelac (1992)
- Ole Schmidt (1995)
- Danny Boticki (1999)
- Logan Smythe (2003)
Other players of note who have played in the Invitational have included:
- Derek Christianson (Sentinel – UBC)
- Greg Newton (AN Myer – Duke)
- Brendan Graves (Lambrick Park – California/Santa Clara and Canada)
- Steve Nash (SMUS – Santa Clara, Canada and the Phoenix Suns)
- Martin Nash (SMUS – 38 Soccer caps for Canada)
- Bobby Ross (SMUS – 58 Rugby caps for Canada)
- Andrew Mavis (Richmond – Northern Arizona)
- Davis Sanchez (North Delta – currently a CFL star with the Montreal Alouettes)
- Mike Saunders (Lambrick Park – now playing baseball for the Seattle Mariners)
Most Valuable Players who did not play for the Invitational championship team:
- Corey Painter – (Carihi 1987) – tournament winner Cariboo Hill
- Al Seredick – (Alberni 1991) – tournament winner SMUS
