David Wallace has been coaching basketball for more than 15 years. He and his team of Lady Greyhounds are in Columbia this weekend to compete in the Show-Me State Games.

"Show-Me State always puts on a real good tournament," Wallace said. "You have teams that come from all around the different states, so its good to come down and get good competition.

But competing in the tournament is no walk in the park. Wallace and his girls came from Kansas City, and with the struggling economy, the team had to do some heavy fundraising to make the trip.

"They sell hotdogs, they sell candy bars and trash bags to be able to afford the opportunity to come down to the Show-Me State Games," he said.

The economy has impacted several aspects of the state-wide tournament. Revenue from sponsorships is down nearly 15 percent.

"People can't give, corporations can't give unless they are making money, and so many of them aren't," Ken Ash of the Show-Me State Games said. "Or if they are it's very fringe, and they owe it to their emplyees to take care of them first."

Overall, athlete participation numbers are also down slightly, but Wallace said he's proud of his girls and happy to be competing in his fifth Show-Me State Games.

"Despite what's going on throughout the country, you still got to continue on and dig in the trenches and continue to work," Wallace said. "And this is one opporunity that let's them know that despite bad times, there are still good things happening."