The Abbotsford Basketball Association (ABA) was founded by Dylan Kular and Ash Singh in 2016. Their goal was to make quality sports programs accessible to all youth. Together, they oversaw leagues, skills programs, and club teams for over 2000 players a year. After years of dedicated stewardship of the ABA community, they stepped away to focus on their health, family, and careers. Now, they are passing the torch to another strong group of community leaders.
The ABA is now dedicated to fostering the love of basketball by supporting community programs, hosting the Abbotsford City Basketball Tournament (presented by AbbyPD), and providing scholarships that empower the next generation. By promoting local opportunities and giving back to our community, the new leadership team aims to connect and inspire basketball enthusiasts across Abbotsford.
President – Paula Thompson (vice principal, Yale Secondary)
Secretary – Jennifer Bell (principal, Abbotsford Senior Secondary)
Treasurer – Danny Horner (alumni, W.J. Mouat Basketball & TWU Spartans Basketball)
Director – Abby Kular (alumni & coach, Abbotsford Traditional School)
Director – Amanda Thompson (educator and coach, Rick Hansen Secondary)
Director – Bo Sidhu (vice principal & coach, W.J. Mouat Secondary)
Director – Dylan Kular (president, Vancouver Bandits Basketball)
Director – Matt Brar (coach, Yale Secondary School)
Director – Matt Thiessen (realtor & coach, MEI Secondary)
Director – Paul Nivins (FVBOA Executive Committee)
Committee Member – Alicia Pastro (social media & events coordinator, AbbyPD)
Committee Member – Callum McDonald (educator & coach, Abbotsford Senior)
Committee Member – Stan Petersen (trustee, Abbotsford School District)
The inaugural City Basketball Tournament tipped-off in 1993 originally branded as the Tip-Off Tournament featuring the local high school girls and boys senior teams. During the early 90s the Abbotsford Senior Panthers, M.E.I Eagles, W.J. Mouat Hawks, Yale Lions and Abbotsford Christian Knights all had girls and/or boys teams ranked provincially. The purpose of launching the tournament was to promote the sport of basketball and create a prestigious tournament bringing together the schools of Abbotsford. The original tournament committee included key members of the basketball community in Abbotsford: Mike Inman, Bruce Lane, Pat Lee, Don MacDonald, Rodger Nissen, Jack Rempel, Ted Strocel and Rudy Teichrob.
The tournament went on for eight successful years until in 2001 it paused due a conflict with another tournament. The committee’s mandate was to run the tournament on the condition every school in Abbotsford participated and due to another tournament the committee decided to pause the City Basketball Tournament until further notice.
It was not until 2010 the tournament returned, welcoming all high school senior boys and girls teams from Abbotsford and a special appearance from a high school from Australia. The tournament was able to return thanks to the funding support of the Abbotsford Police Foundation and the Abbotsford Police Department. Since 2010 the tournament has successfully hosted an annual City Basketball Tournament, eventually including all high school senior, junior, grade 9 and grade 8 boys and girls teams from across Abbotsford. The tournament each year now welcomes over 750 players, thousands of fans and hundreds of community volunteers. In 2025 the Abbotsford City Basketball Tournament presented by AbbyPD became an official event owned and operated by the Abbotsford Basketball Association.
The Abbotsford Basketball Association is dedicated to fostering the love of basketball by supporting community programs, hosting the Abbotsford City Basketball Tournament presented by AbbyPD, and providing scholarships that empower the next generation. By promoting local opportunities and giving back to our community, we aim to connect and inspire basketball enthusiasts across Abbotsford.
