14th Annual Gus Macker

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The weather didn’t always cooperate, but the 2010 Gus Macker Basketball Tournament was a success.

Despite unseasonably cool, rainy weather — and a tornado threat — on Sunday, TRC Foundation’s 14th annual Gus Macker Basketball Tournament was a success.

Some 560 teams (more than 2,200 players) and thousands of spectators attended the event, held June 4-6 in downtown Jamestown.  Dozens of volunteers, including a number of TRC employees, service recipients and family members, volunteered their time to make the event a success.

The Macker is a huge undertaking.  The streets around the Jamestown Savings Bank Ice Arena were closed off Friday morning after rush hour.  Volunteers then fanned out, using duct tape to mark the outlines of the courts.  The basketball structures themselves, having arrived earlier in the week from another Macker tournament held the previous weekend, then were assembled.  Vendors began to arrive, and by afternoon a significant portion of West Third Street had been transformed into Mackerville.

By mid-afternoon, players began arriving to officially register for the event, filing into the Time Warner Cable Rink A to be measured.  The arena was crowded until registration closed for the evening at 7:00.

Outside the arena, although the official tournament wouldn’t start until the next morning, basketball action already had begun.  Players who came down to register hooked up for some impromptu competition.  On the Top Men’s and Top Women’s courts, the traditional Sponsors Tournament was contested.  When all was said and done, E.E. Austin & Son was crowned the champion, defeating The Resource Center in the finale.

Afterwards, sponsors and volunteers gathered in the Ice Arena for the annual VIP Party, giving everyone to relax and mingle with one another and with members of the national Gus Macker staff who traveled to Jamestown to help run our tournament.

Until then, you can read about the Macker at www.resourcecenter.org and www.jamestowngusmacker.org; photos can be viewed on Flickr by searching "The Resource Center" and "Gus Macker Bball 2010".

The Macker began in 1974 in Lowell, Michigan.  Scott McNeal and 17 friends decided to hold a tournament in the driveway of his parents’ home.  Each person put in $1, with the winning team claiming the pot.  The event needed a name, and since it was played at Scott’s home with his mother handling much of the organizing, the tournament was given Scott’s nickname – Gus Macker.  The Macker became an annual event.  It caught on with other people and began to grow.  In 1979, the tournament spilled out of the McNeals’ driveway and into the street in front of his house.  In 1985, Sports Illustrated ran a lengthy article about the tournament, and that national exposure helped the Macker become a phenomenon – the following year, 1,100 teams competed on 88 courts erected throughout the McNeals’ neighborhood.

In 1987, the inaugural Macker national tour was launched, with events in four cities.  More cities joined the list, including Jamestown in 1997.  This year, Macker tournaments will be played in about 50 cities nationwide.

Each tournament begins with the opening ceremonies Saturday morning.  This year, the national Macker staff had a surprise for Tournament Director Victoria Trass Bardo – several of them hoisted her aloft, and a barbershop quartet came out and serenaded her with “Let Me Call You Sweetheart.”  After representative "Dave" from media sponsor KISS 106.9 made the traditional “do or die shot,” the tournament officially began.

Gus Macker Basketball is a double-elimination tournament.  Teams are assigned to courts based on players’ age, gender and ability, and each court then becomes its own mini-tournament.  There were 39 courts this year.  Awards are given to the top three teams on each court, as well as in the Toilet Bowl division, which on each court consists of teams that lost their first two games.  Each court also awards a Sportsmanship recognition to one team.

Saturday’s weather was almost perfect – sunny with occasional cloudy breaks, and not too hot.  At the end of the day’s action, a number of special events were held on the Top Men’s and Tom Women’s Courts:

• Local Special Olympians played an exhibition game to show off their basketball skills.
• The finals of the Dinky Dunk Contest (for children 12 and younger) were held.
• The Psychotic Crew entertained the crowd with a dance number.
• State Senator Catharine Young read proclamations honoring the Clymer High School girls’ basketball team, which won its first-ever Class D State Championship; the Maple Grove High School boys’ team, which won its second Class D title in the past three years; and The Jamestown Community College women’s team, which won the Division II, Region 3 championship for its first title since 1976.
• The popular Windstream Slam Dunk Contest was held, with Ace Narvaez winning.

While Saturday’s weather was pleasant, Sunday’s weather was cool and damp, although it could have been worse – the heavy rain, accompanied by a tornado threat, came through overnight, and Sunday’s precipitation was limited to mist in the morning and a light rain for a while in the afternoon.  Play continued all day, with champions being crowned on each of the courts.  As play ended, teams excitedly came into the Ice arena to pick up their trophies.

By about 6:00 play had ended on all courts, and the process of turning Mackerville back into downtown Jamestown began.  Volunteers pulled up the duct tape.  Representatives from TRC and the Jamestown High School girls’ basketball team undertook the dirty task of picking up the garbage that some players and spectators left behind on the streets, sidewalks and parking lots.  Members of TRC’s Maintenance Department and the Macker national staff disassembled the baskets, which then were loaded onto tractor-trailers to be taken to a Macker tournament in another city the following week.

Vicky, the Tournament Director, was pleased with how the weekend went.  She expressed gratitude to the players and spectators and heaped high praise on the volunteers, particularly the local certified basketball officials who turn out each year to officiate the games.  Vicky also was grateful to the Planning Committee, emergency medical technicians, City of Jamestown officials, the Jamestown Police, the Downtown Jamestown Development Corporation, and the Ice Arena staff for doing such a great job and making the event run smoothly.

She also thanked the many sponsors who provide financial backing for the Macker.  The tournament raises money for TRC Foundation, Inc. to support individuals with disabling conditions in our community.

The Jamestown Gus Macker Tournament raises money for The Resource Center and TRC Foundation to improve the lives of persons with disabilities in our community.  With your financial support, TRC helps individuals with disabilities in many ways, including:

•    giving children the therapies they need to overcome their disabilities
•    teaching people daily life skills to become more independent
•    providing a nurturing home life in a safe, secure community residence
•    transporting people to their jobs, day programs and medical appointments
•    providing employment and work training opportunities

We have set a goal of raising $5,000 online.  Please help support people with disabilities by making a financial contribution to TRC Foundation.  Donations of any amount are appreciated.  And when you make a donation, you’ll receive a gift too – the satisfaction that comes from “Making a Difference in People’s Lives”.