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Championship Day at CIAA Tournament

  • http://media.charlotteobserver.com/smedia/2013/03/01/19/04/37hrO.Em.138.jpeg|301
    Jeff Siner - jsiner@charlotteobserver.com
    Shaw's Crystal Wilson, left, fights for a rebound with Elizabeth City State's Jasmine Whitehurst during CIAA women's semifinal action on Friday at Time Warner Cable Arena. Shaw defeated ECSU 76-61.
  • http://media.charlotteobserver.com/smedia/2013/03/01/22/51/2iOG5.Em.138.jpeg|271
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    Livingstone College's Omar Ford-Bey (4) drives the ball down court during the CIAA men's semifinal tournament game at Time Warner Cable Arena Friday, Mar. 1, 2013. ADAM JENNINGS

It’s Championship Day Saturday at the CIAA Tournament, and that means two final basketball games — and a lot more partying.

And it also means heavy traffic in the uptown area.

Champions will be crowned in the women’s and men’s divisions of the weeklong basketball tournament, with the winners gaining automatic berths in the NCAA Division II Regional tournaments this month.

But as has been the case all week, there will be plenty of other things to do in Charlotte.

Perhaps the biggest off-the-court activity is the annual Post-Tournament Party, scheduled for 11 p.m. at the Charlotte Convention Center’s Crown Ballroom. The featured guest at the party will be singer Chaka Khan.

Another big attraction will be the McDonald’s Super Saturday event, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Time Warner Cable Arena. That includes live entertainment and the crowning of Miss CIAA, Brittany Whidbee of Elizabeth City State University.

The CIAA Toyota Fan Experience continues at the Convention Center, and the Step Show Step-Off is scheduled for Saturday evening at the Grady Cole Center.

Transportation officials remind people who will be in the uptown area to expect heavy traffic — both vehicular and pedestrian — throughout the day Saturday. Many of the fans attending the tournament and related events are from out of town and might not be familiar with the city’s traffic flow, Charlotte officials say. So motorists are being urged to use extra caution when driving uptown during the tournament.

Charlotte Area Transit System says its Gold Rush Red Line will operate from 11 a.m. to midnight Saturday. It provides free transportation in a corridor stretching from the Johnson C. Smith University campus eastward to the intersection of McDowell and 4th streets.

Saturday’s schedule:

• Food Lion Health and Wellness Symposium: 8 a.m.-noon, Time Warner Cable Arena’s practice court. Features food sampling, exhibits and booths.

• McDonald’s Super Saturday: 9 a.m.-2 p.m., Time Warner Cable Arena.

• CIAA Toyota Fan Experience: noon-9 p.m., Charlotte Convention Center. Free admission. Includes Belk Fashion Show, 3 p.m.; and concert featuring Chrisette Michele at 6:20 p.m.

• Women’s Championship: 5 p.m., Time Warner Cable Arena (carried live on Bounce TV).

• CIAA Step Show Step-Off: 8 p.m., Grady Cole Center, Kings Drive. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Features step competition among the CIAA’s schools.

• Men’s Championship: 8:30 p.m., Time Warner Cable Arena (carried live on ESPNU).

• CIAA Post-Tournament Party: 11 p.m., Charlotte Convention Center.

Lyttle: 704-358-6107

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