Local transit agency has its own version of March Madness

Washington State Ferries is asking Twitter followers to vote for their favorite boat in a fun way to engage with their followers.

It’s the agency’s version of March Madness with divisions and brackets, and now it’s down to the Sweet 16.

Ferry spokesperson Justin Fujioka said she came up with the idea in 2018.

Abandoned tugboat sinks near Ballard; SFD and Coast Guard respond

“I mean, everyone has their own opinion about which ferry they like or don’t like or which ferries are most iconic to them, which depends on which route they’re on most of the time,” Fujioka said. “But we did this a couple of years ago. We just kind of tested it out to see what kind of engagement we would get on our page. And it actually did really well.”

Good morning! Voting for four Sweet 16 matchups in our #WSFTournament favorite ferry championships will begin at 9 a.m. #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/W3UbYn0jTR

— Washington State Ferries (@wsferries) March 20, 2023

Fujioka said state ferries have 21 vessels, so they had to create a bracket that was different from the NCAA’s basketball tournament, but the idea is the same.

“I want to say our number 21, the lowest seed, Salish is still in the running in the Sweet 16. So that’s where we’re at right now,” he said. “We do voting from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. And you can just vote on Twitter for your favorite with each matchup.”

Salish went for the upset last year and won the tourney.

More from Micki Gamez: Sound Transit making changes to Link Light Rail to ‘increase safety’

#WSFTournament favorite ferry Sweet 16 vote #1 through 9 p.m. #MarchMadness

— Washington State Ferries (@wsferries) March 20, 2023

Fujioka said the online tournament is doing so well that the agency plans to make it an annual event because the followers are having fun sounding off on their favorite boat.

Follow Micki Gamez on Twitter or email her here.

Follow @https://twitter.com/onairmichelle