St. Stephen, N.B., has a rich history with the sport of basketball, and it will be celebrated all weekend long as part of the annual The Archie fundraiser. The now three-day event began Thursday with a basketball block party downtown, with various performers, artists, and vendors also setting up shop to celebrate the day. At the centre of it all was tours of the World’s Oldest Basketball court – a title officials proclaim belongs to them. “What’s special about St. Stephen and Charlotte County is when a national event like this happens, everybody comes out,” says World’s Oldest Basketball Court fundraising chair Tom Liston. “So much that we’re closing down the street here in St. Stephen today to make it a real celebration for Canada basketball.” Basketball was first brought to the border town by Nova Scotian Lyman Walker Archibald after playing in the first-ever basketball game under the direction of fellow Canadian Dr. James Naismith in Springfield, Mass. Records of games on the St. Stephen court date back as far as Oct. 17, 1893. The annual event, now in its fifth year, aims to raise awareness of the court and raise funds to preserve its legacy. Festivities later in the week include a celebrity golf tournament at the Algonquin Golf Course in Saint Andrews, N.B. On Saturday, the focus will return to basketball with various clinics and tournaments being held out of St. Stephen High School. The highlight of the three-day event is Thursday night’s 2026 Canadian Basketball Hall of Fame induction ceremony. It marks the first time the bi-annual event has been held in Atlantic Canada, and only the second time it has been held outside of Ontario since its inception. “Sometimes events in Toronto get a little bit lost with everything else going on, especially in the summer months,” says Liston. “[Canada Basketball] knew that we could attract a lot of people to any event that we have with The Archie every year, so it just magnified it by bringing the Hall of Fame ceremony.” Among the record ten inductees in the 2026 class is three-time Olympian Miranda Ayim, who served as captain at the 2020 games in Tokyo. “It’s one of those things that you can’t predict, and I’ve always loved playing for Canada,” Ayim says on getting the call to the hall. “I think it’s the highest point of my career for sure having Canada across my chest, and now that I get to celebrate it with those who made it possible.” Michael Meeks will also be officially inducted into the hall of fame Thursday. The now assistant general manager of the men’s senior team led the national team in scoring at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. “Whenever the country calls you, you say yes,” says Meeks, adding there are too many people to thank for helping him get to this honour. “An event like this where I get to get recognized, it doesn’t get much better than that to be honest.” Both Meeks and Ayim say having their induction ceremony just a stone’s throw away from the world’s oldest basketball court is an honour. For Meeks, Thursday was his first time seeing the historic court in person. “I’m actually trying to see if I can take a piece of it home with me,” Meeks jokes, adding he can’t think of a better place for what would be Canada’s first basketball hall of fame and museum.“ It’s a lot of fun to spread the word,” Ayim says about the historic court. “I’m from London, Ont., and I tell all of my friends, all the people that I can like, ‘Do you know that the world’s oldest basketball court is?’ It’s fun for people to be able to come and tour it and see the history that we have here. Hopefully we get to restore it and bring it to its former glory and add on a fun museum and make it really something of a destination for Canadians and everyone else.” Liston says efforts to preserve the court and transform the space into a world class basketball experience centre are continuing, but says raising $18 million for the project is not a small amount of money. For more New Brunswick news, visit our dedicated provincial page.
