MORAVIA - As if playing a basketball game isn't difficult enough, or for that matter a game that pits a random gathering of high school seniors against their teachers and faculty, throw in donkeys and it is a whole new world of basketball. Saturday night, Moravia High School hosted its fourth annual donkey basketball game.

Karen Adams, co-chairperson of the Moravia Sports Boosters said that the idea originated with her predecessors, but was so popular that it has simply grown into its own tradition that has continued through these years.

“It is also a really good fundraiser,#” Adams said. “But really it is very popular, every year we have a packed house.”

Adams estimated that year after year, the event draws anywhere from 250 to more than 300 audience members.

“I think a lot of the kids know each other and they like to see their peers,” Adams said. “But it is also just a lot of fun. I think they have fun seeing teachers out there playing, so that gets parents and friends out to watch every year.”

Students, like Ryan Murray, a freshman at Moravia have been watching the games for a number of years.

“I've been coming to these for at least three or four years,” Murray said. “It is a lot of fun to watch and you meet up with friends and just have a good time. When I'm a senior I definitely want to play.”

Others, like Josh Brown made the journey over from Southern Cayuga to watch.

“I just thought it would be fun to watch,” Brown, 15, said. “I've got some friends here and we thought it would be fun to watch.”

This incredible attendance has proven incredibly beneficial for the sports boosters.

“It is a big fundraiser for us,” Adams said. “All the money goes right back to the kids. We use it to buy things they need like a new scoreboard or water-bottles for the volleyball team, things like that just aren't covered in the budget.”

The rules are not too far removed from a regular game of basketball except that it is played on the back of a donkey, an animal that isn't exactly known for its tendencies to be cooperative.

This combination is much like a circus and a rodeo spliced together with a basketball game.

Players have to ride or pull their animals to the ball, but they have to be on the back of the animal to shoot and to score points as well as to make defensive plays. With teachers and students alike getting into the spirit of things, wearing costumes like ranging from Superman to cowboys, it is really all about the fun. Varsity baseball coach, Rich Valentino, has been a regular in the competition since the beginning.

“I thought it was going to be a one year wonder,” Valentino said. “But it has turned into a really great fundraiser. Every year we have sellout crowds. It isn't easy to get the donkey to cooperate, but it all goes back to the kids.”

Valentino was joined by colleagues like Don Langtry, school resource officer.

“It helps the kids out,” Langtry said. “That is what this is all about. It is something pretty different, but it is a lot of fun. People come here and laugh and we all laugh at ourselves and just have a good time.”

On the other side of the court, students like Taylor Mackey and Justin Stanton have been eagerly awaiting their chance to play.

“I've been coming to these since I was about 12,” Mackey, 17, said. “Ever since then it is something I've always wanted to do. Now that I'm a senior I knew that this was something that I had to do.”

Though they didn't have much chance to prepare, they were still excited to play.

“We're going into this pretty cold,” Stanton, 17, said. “I'm a little nervous, but this is a tradition, this is a big part of our senior year and it is going to be a lot of fun.”