Norwich YMCA announces cancellation of Gus Macker for the second year in a row
The 2019 Norwich Gus Macker, held on East Main Street. This was the last year Norwich was able to hold the event. (Photo by Frank Speziale)
NORWICH — The 2021 Norwich Gus Macker event has been cancelled for a second year in a row.
James Mullen, the Executive Director of the Norwich YMCA, said that because Gus Macker is not a ticketed event, but rather an open-access event, it is impossible to regulate the amount of people attending.
"Unfortunately the regulations by New York State are limiting our event and venues at 33 percent capacity for up to 200 people outdoors. Or, if we had an event that had up to 500 people outdoors we would have to require a negative COVID-19 test, face coverings, social distancing, and also a ton of work surrounding cleaning and disinfecting," Mullen stated in a Facebook video announcing the cancellation.
This marks the second year of cancellation for the Norwich Gus Macker. The 2020 event was meant to be the 25th anniversary. According to Mullen, the plan now is to hold the 25th Annual Gus Macker in 2022.
"It will be our second attempt at it," Mullen stated in the video. "So it will be 25 part two."
Gus Macker first began in Lowell, Michigan by a group of friends playing basketball in a driveway. Over the years it has grown to a nationwide event. In New York State, six towns participate in the Gus Macker tournaments: Norwich, Hornell, Olean, Ithaca, Rochester, and Cicero.
Mullen stated that out of these six towns, Norwich holds the largest tournament as well as the longest running tournament.
"The great thing about it, you can be a good basketball player, you can be a first time basketball player. You know, male, female, adult, child. They tried to make it fun and competitive at the same time," Mullen said.
While the decision to postpone the 25th Norwich Gus Macker tournament was not an easy one, Mullen stated they wanted to make sure it was a quality event.
"We said we want to run a quality event not a quantity event, I guess that theme is true today that we might be able to put something together, but it would not have looked the same, it would not have felt the same. Safety would have been a concern," said Mullen.
Another concern is the condition of East Main Street, where the tournament is held every year. According to Mullen, he met with Senator Akshar and Assemblyman Crouch two years ago to address this concern.
"I think September will be two years since I met with Senator Akshar and Assemblyman Crouch too, asking if there was any way that the street could be paved," said Mullen. "Not just for our event but also the wear and tear of all the city vehicles, the fire department trucks, the police. ‘Cause they're all on Main Street too and that road is getting pretty rough."
Mullen also stated that if the roads have not been repaved by the next Gus Macker tournament, they will have to find a new area to hold the event.
These setbacks have been described by Mullen as "challenging and disappointing." But, he is still optimistic about the future of the event, citing the massive benefits it brings to the community.
"Maybe you've got a team from Rochester that's been coming out for a decade and they come in for the weekend," said Mullen. "They stay at a hotel, they eat at our restaurants, they go to a movie on Friday night, they shoot hoops on our streets on Saturday night, they load up gasoline at a gas station before they turn around and go home. That's all additional revenue in our community, and sales tax revenue for our county."
Mullen also addressed rumors that Gus Macker would not continue due to the two years of cancellations. He stated that the YMCA is under contract with Gus Macker, so they are still obligated to hold a tournament.
"So we've got a contract with Gus Macker which we've signed. That's kind of one of our philosophies too, how can we stop doing something at year 24 when year 25 is right there," Mullen explained. "We will hold true to our word because that's something we would pride ourselves on, our word and our handshake."
While this year has brought on new challenges and setbacks for the Norwich Gus Macker tournament, Mullen still views the event fondly.
"We're excited because we know there's a whole generation of kids that have missed out on this," said Mullen. "The great thing is just the smile of the kids playing, that's great joy. Seeing high school students from the county that used to play, that maybe have grown and moved away and have children, and now they're coming back."
James Mullen, the Executive Director of the Norwich YMCA, said that because Gus Macker is not a ticketed event, but rather an open-access event, it is impossible to regulate the amount of people attending.
"Unfortunately the regulations by New York State are limiting our event and venues at 33 percent capacity for up to 200 people outdoors. Or, if we had an event that had up to 500 people outdoors we would have to require a negative COVID-19 test, face coverings, social distancing, and also a ton of work surrounding cleaning and disinfecting," Mullen stated in a Facebook video announcing the cancellation.
This marks the second year of cancellation for the Norwich Gus Macker. The 2020 event was meant to be the 25th anniversary. According to Mullen, the plan now is to hold the 25th Annual Gus Macker in 2022.
"It will be our second attempt at it," Mullen stated in the video. "So it will be 25 part two."
Gus Macker first began in Lowell, Michigan by a group of friends playing basketball in a driveway. Over the years it has grown to a nationwide event. In New York State, six towns participate in the Gus Macker tournaments: Norwich, Hornell, Olean, Ithaca, Rochester, and Cicero.
Mullen stated that out of these six towns, Norwich holds the largest tournament as well as the longest running tournament.
"The great thing about it, you can be a good basketball player, you can be a first time basketball player. You know, male, female, adult, child. They tried to make it fun and competitive at the same time," Mullen said.
While the decision to postpone the 25th Norwich Gus Macker tournament was not an easy one, Mullen stated they wanted to make sure it was a quality event.
"We said we want to run a quality event not a quantity event, I guess that theme is true today that we might be able to put something together, but it would not have looked the same, it would not have felt the same. Safety would have been a concern," said Mullen.
Another concern is the condition of East Main Street, where the tournament is held every year. According to Mullen, he met with Senator Akshar and Assemblyman Crouch two years ago to address this concern.
"I think September will be two years since I met with Senator Akshar and Assemblyman Crouch too, asking if there was any way that the street could be paved," said Mullen. "Not just for our event but also the wear and tear of all the city vehicles, the fire department trucks, the police. ‘Cause they're all on Main Street too and that road is getting pretty rough."
Mullen also stated that if the roads have not been repaved by the next Gus Macker tournament, they will have to find a new area to hold the event.
These setbacks have been described by Mullen as "challenging and disappointing." But, he is still optimistic about the future of the event, citing the massive benefits it brings to the community.
"Maybe you've got a team from Rochester that's been coming out for a decade and they come in for the weekend," said Mullen. "They stay at a hotel, they eat at our restaurants, they go to a movie on Friday night, they shoot hoops on our streets on Saturday night, they load up gasoline at a gas station before they turn around and go home. That's all additional revenue in our community, and sales tax revenue for our county."
Mullen also addressed rumors that Gus Macker would not continue due to the two years of cancellations. He stated that the YMCA is under contract with Gus Macker, so they are still obligated to hold a tournament.
"So we've got a contract with Gus Macker which we've signed. That's kind of one of our philosophies too, how can we stop doing something at year 24 when year 25 is right there," Mullen explained. "We will hold true to our word because that's something we would pride ourselves on, our word and our handshake."
While this year has brought on new challenges and setbacks for the Norwich Gus Macker tournament, Mullen still views the event fondly.
"We're excited because we know there's a whole generation of kids that have missed out on this," said Mullen. "The great thing is just the smile of the kids playing, that's great joy. Seeing high school students from the county that used to play, that maybe have grown and moved away and have children, and now they're coming back."
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