NORWICH – The scenery of East Main Street has been transformed once again as volunteers dedicated their time to set up for the 12th annual Gus Macker tournament being held from Friday to Sunday.

More than 30 baskets, each on their own courts, began to line the street early this morning and already the excitement of the weekend has brought out players young and old to enjoy a day on the courts.

Roughly 427 teams, consisting of over 1,700 players, have signed up to play in the weekend-long event. The tournament, since 1995, was born from an idea to get the City of Norwich back on the map, said YMCA director Jamey Mullen. He said he was approached by city officials and asked if he could think of a way to get people coming in.

Norwich was the second area in the state of New York to host the event. Since 1995 the tournament has brought thousands of people to downtown Norwich. On average, as many as 10,000 people line the streets Gus Macker weekend, YMCA sports Director Tom Revoir said.

To put together such an event, planning starts a full year ahead of time. Mullen and Revoir said the main goal for the first eight years was coming up with something new to introduce to the public. Now they say the event has ultimately not changed year to year. Playing basketball, socializing, enjoying the park festivities and food while having fun is what brings so many people coming back every year, said Revoir and Mullen.