Parrish Family 3 on 3 Basketball Tournament returns to Pocatello, raising awareness for CO Poisoning
POCATELLO, Idaho (KIFI) – A tradition born from tragedy is back in Pocatello for the twelfth year– the annual Parrish Family 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament. The competition serves as a fundraiser for the NO C.O. Foundation and the Chubbuck Lions Club, as well as an opportuity to raise awareness about carbon monoxide poisoning.
In an incident that shook the community, Bill Parrish, his wife Ross, and their two young sons died in their sleep from carbon monoxide poisoning in 2014. Carri Parrish Curtis, Bill’s sister and vice president of the NO C.O. Foundation explained a hot water heater malfunctioned and emitted the toxic gas throughout the night.
“The furnace was of course, running because it was February, and it sucked that carbon monoxide being released from the hot water heater into the vents to the house and pushed it throughout the house while they were sleeping,” Parrish Curtis said.
The remaining family members learned a valuable lesson: death by CO poisoning is preventable.
“We want to make sure that this never happens to anybody else ever again,” Parrish Curtis said. “As long as we have more people become educated and have detectors in their home, so we started the NO C.O. Foundation.”
The foundation provides free CO detectors to anyone in need. Unlike functioning smoke alarms, in order to buy or rent a living space, a carbon monoxide detector is not required. Parrish Curtis said others have suffered from vacation rentals not being equipped with a detector, leading the foundation to provide portable equipment.
Just three months after the tragedy in the Parrish family, Carri and her husband decided to host a basketball tournament in honor and memory of their lost loved ones.
“My brother is a big basketball player, he played college ball and raised his kids to play basketball, so it’s a love of all of our family,” Parrish Curtis said. “We thought of it to commemorate them and remember them and do a fundraiser for the Lions Club.”
The Chubbuck Lions Club is a service organization focused on restoring eyesight and hearing for local people. The Parrish family combined forces with them to create the perfect event for the community.
“It’s not just to create awareness and fundraise, it’s to create a fun event where we’ve got food, live music and high energy basketball,” Parrish Curtis said.
She said all ages are welcome to compete, from eight years old to 88. The divisions are split into men’s and women’s as well as by skill level categories. The event has grown to nearly 100 teams each year.
“We were wishing and crossing our fingers for 20 to 30 teams total, and it has grown and spread across all the divisons,” she said. “We’re so grateful for all the support, we want to make sure everyone gets to play.”
Their main focus post-tournament is to turn the funds around right back into the community, including to purchase and distribute more carbon monoxide detectors across the region. At the basketball tournament under the NO C.O. Foundation tent, visitors can grab a free detector. They’re also asking anyone with extra glasses lying around to come donate them to the Chubbuck Lions Club at the tournament.
Each registered player gets a Parrish Family T-shirt. Parrish Curtis said they switch colors each year, and 2026 is the year of coral. This year’s event will also have a focus on cooling stations, with misters, water guns and hydration stations available to keep all players safe during the heat advisory.
Parrish Curtis said she’s already had multiple families tell her how the detectors saved their lives.
“Two more people who have come to the tournament and got carbon monoxide detectors, their lives were saved because they had a leak in their home,” she said. “Otherwise, without those detectors, they went off when they were already sleeping, so they could’ve not made it.”
The tournament begins at 5 p.m. on Friday, July 31. Opening ceremonies are at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, August 1 with tournament play to follow. Sign-ups for teams are still open through Thursday, July 30. To register, visit chubbucklions.org.
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