Jake Lacey/Arizona Daily Wildcat Biochemistry freshman Abe Itty evaluates two local kids at a basketball camp on Saturday in Bear Down Gym.

Student leaders who coach local children at a free basketball and cheer camp drew nearly 500 children to sign up last weekend, four times more than last year.

Around 490 elementary and middle school students showed up at registration Saturday for the Youth Basketball and Cheer Camp, more than quadrupling the 120 children who participated last year, said John Chapman, community development director.

The children, who are separated into 30 basketball teams and 12 cheerleading teams, will compete in games through February until the championship games in McKale Center on Feb. 26, said Chapman, a biochemistry and molecular biophysics sophomore.

About 100 UA student volunteers recently handed out 14,000 fliers at elementary and middle schools near campus, which could explain the high number of registrants, he said.

"I think when 500 showed up, everyone was surprised but excited at the same time," Chapman said.

The free league is open to all Tucson youth between fourth and eighth grades, and one target of the program is "at-risk" youth who couldn't afford to pay for traditional basketball camps, he said.

"A lot of parents were surprised that there wasn't any cost involved," Chapman said. "They said the money was a huge thing for them."

Bri Mergenthaler, who has 11 years of experience cheerleading but stopped because of a shattered ankle, said she is excited about having many more girls to coach than last year, even if it means staying so busy she can't take a break.

"I'm so excited, I really am. It's going to be so fun and it's going to be really good for the kids," said Mergenthaler, a physiology sophomore.

The purpose of the program is less about basketball and more about a chance to mentor and encourage children to pursue college degrees, Mergenthaler said.

"It gives them a place to start," she said.

A.J. Arzani, an eighth-grader at Roskruge Middle School, 501 E. Sixth St., said on Saturday that this is his third year participating.

The first year his team lost at the championship game, but it came back last year and won the championship, he said.

Arzani, who plans to go to the UA or Oklahoma University, said the camp gives him and other children the opportunity to interact with young adults in college.

"(It's good) 'cause you're just a little step behind them. You're going to have the same experience some day," Arzani said.

Abdul Arzani, A.J. Arzani's dad, said he has only good things to say about the camp because of what it does for young people in the community.

Abdul Arzani said he hoped the program could bring some of the Arizona basketball coaches or players to the games, like when men's basketball assistant coach Josh Pastner spoke at an event two years ago.

"It's organized, you can't beat that," Abdul Arzani said. "I hope this will continue. Maybe they can get some more sponsors and make it happen twice a year."

Chapman agreed that the recent success could be an asset to expanding the program.

"I think the number of participants will let the league grow in future years," Chapman said. "We can take it to potential sponsors and say, 'This is something substantial in the community.'"