Final preparations are underway for the 34th annual Dairy Town Classic in Sussex.

The high school boys and girls basketball tournament returns after a two-year pandemic hiatus.

David Baxendale, president of the committee, said things have really come together over the past few months.

Baxendale said they did have some concerns about this year because of the pandemic pause.

“This is like starting all over again. Are people going to return?” he said. “The truth is, it didn’t skip a beat. It picked up right where we left off.”

Twelve teams from as far away as Quebec will play in next weekend’s tournament, including two from Sussex Regional High School.

Baxendale said they will also showcase younger basketball players in the days leading up to the tournament.

“We have a Dairy Dunkers competition on Monday that involves little kids from the elementary school. They do a shoot-off all of January and the winners of that come to the gym and they get to do their thing in front of a large crowd,” he said.

The U11s will play on Monday night, followed by the U14s on Tuesday night and the junior varsity teams on Wednesday night.

The tournament begins Thursday afternoon and continues through Saturday afternoon.

More details can be found on the Dairy Town Classic’s website.