Norwich finishes year 12 of Mackermania
NORWICH – By 8 p.m. Sunday night, there was little evidence left of another whirlwind weekend of basketball.
Playing host to its 12th Gus Macker 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament, Norwich survived the ominous threat of rain Sunday afternoon that threatened to delay and perhaps bring a precipitous halt to the popular event. After a half-hour delay mid-afternoon, play resumed unimpeded with the final action on Court F finishing up just after 6:30 p.m.
“We have a lot of great volunteers for this tournament and some great games,” said head Gus Buster (official) Mark Abbott. “It’s hard to believe it has been 12 years.”
Since the nationwide tournament landed in Norwich 12 years ago, many of the same faces have undertaken similar duties volunteering the bulk of their respective weekends in an effort to pull off the large-scale event in smooth manner. Any bystander would scarcely notice the amount of work put into the event behind the scenes.
“This is not a one-weekend event,” said local tournament director Tom Revoir. “This is a six-month process of planning to pull it off.”
This year also marks the end of the fourth three-year agreement with the Gus Macker Tournament. Revoir said local planners will examine this year’s tournament and make a decision to re-sign a new three-year deal. “What we have to look at is the amount of volunteers and will the city let us close down their streets for a weekend and do it again,” Revoir said. “We have a quality staff of volunteers in place, but its not a large staff. We’d like to see some more new faces step up.”
Incidents that prompted intervention from organizers and officials were unofficial, although Abbott mentioned he had to eject his first player in 12 years as an official. But that ejection is not the memory he’ll take out of this tournament.
For the first time, Abbott played alongside his son Michael, and his team finished third place in its bracket. Abbott’s story of family is one of many shared by Macker participants and fans. “I still enjoy every part of this tournament,” Abbott said. “Not a lot of fathers can say they played with their sons in this tournament, and it is a memory I will always cherish.”
Playing host to its 12th Gus Macker 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament, Norwich survived the ominous threat of rain Sunday afternoon that threatened to delay and perhaps bring a precipitous halt to the popular event. After a half-hour delay mid-afternoon, play resumed unimpeded with the final action on Court F finishing up just after 6:30 p.m.
“We have a lot of great volunteers for this tournament and some great games,” said head Gus Buster (official) Mark Abbott. “It’s hard to believe it has been 12 years.”
Since the nationwide tournament landed in Norwich 12 years ago, many of the same faces have undertaken similar duties volunteering the bulk of their respective weekends in an effort to pull off the large-scale event in smooth manner. Any bystander would scarcely notice the amount of work put into the event behind the scenes.
“This is not a one-weekend event,” said local tournament director Tom Revoir. “This is a six-month process of planning to pull it off.”
This year also marks the end of the fourth three-year agreement with the Gus Macker Tournament. Revoir said local planners will examine this year’s tournament and make a decision to re-sign a new three-year deal. “What we have to look at is the amount of volunteers and will the city let us close down their streets for a weekend and do it again,” Revoir said. “We have a quality staff of volunteers in place, but its not a large staff. We’d like to see some more new faces step up.”
Incidents that prompted intervention from organizers and officials were unofficial, although Abbott mentioned he had to eject his first player in 12 years as an official. But that ejection is not the memory he’ll take out of this tournament.
For the first time, Abbott played alongside his son Michael, and his team finished third place in its bracket. Abbott’s story of family is one of many shared by Macker participants and fans. “I still enjoy every part of this tournament,” Abbott said. “Not a lot of fathers can say they played with their sons in this tournament, and it is a memory I will always cherish.”
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