By Caslee Sims

Sports Intern

POWELLSVILLE — In one of the smallest towns in Bertie County, history is being made in a very huge way.

When it comes to playing sports, life lessons can be learned. One of the most important is the idea of camaraderie; bringing people together to create something bigger than the sport itself.

Walk into an almost forgotten venue in Powellsville – CG White High School’s gymnasium – on a night of a local basketball league game, and suddenly you will be taken aback. CG White hasn’t hosted anything close to a basketball league since it closed seven years ago.

You can thank Kervin Spivey for revitalizing an interest in playing basketball at CG White.

Spivey knows a thing or two about what it means to bring the community together.  He served his country in the US Army for 20 years, and his local basketball league, the CG White JGFSC (Jen-esis Global Foundation for the Survival of Children) League can be seen as an addition on his list of serviceable acts.

What really piqued Spivey’s interest in beginning the league, aside from knowing CG White hasn’t really hosted anything like this was the fact that while in the military, he too played basketball. Spivey said he loved playing in the intramural basketball leagues that the military offered.

He also said that he was very interested in bringing the community together, “I want to bring more enthusiasm to the sport, locally, I want to help kids get a second chance, I want to bring any and everyone together”, Spivey said. Spivey also would like to bring scouts or coaches in to watch the guys at work and hopefully a few breakthrough opportunities arise.

Spivey is not the only one responsible for this historic feat. It takes cooperation from players, referees and even fans alike.

To boost the enthusiasm and interest for the league, Spivey hosted an initial tournament among the local teams for bragging rights.  “The initial tournament was full of competition and the winner was able to cut their entry fee for the season in half”, he said.

There are eight teams with two divisions, “North” and South”, and they come from all over Eastern North Carolina in places like Askewville, Merry Hill, Harrellsville, and a team from local Bertie rival, Hertford County, respectively. Players from ages 17 and older are eligible to play, however Spivey notes that if a 16 year old has some ability, they can join in on a piece of history as well.

And yes, this is history, and Spivey doesn’t want to stop here. He’s in the process of forming a Peewee basketball league, similar to the Recreation league in nearby Ahoskie. Spivey says they are currently looking for sponsors.

As far as the current league goes, the regular season, which started on June 28, will end Sept. 4 and following that will be a round-robin formatted playoff series which will lead into the finals to crown the first champion in Spivey’s community-building basketball league.

The CG White JGFSC League currently plays on Saturdays and Thursdays and there is an admission charge to defer some of the costs.