Macker officials extend registration deadline

The registration deadline for the Gus Macker 3-on-3 Basketball tournament on June 2 and 3 in Morris has been extended.

Those wishing to register may do so online before midnight Sunday, May 20, at www.macker.com.

The tournament is open to males and females in age brackets of 10 under, 11-12, 13-14, 15-16, and 17-18. Adult divisions are open in age brackets that range up to 40, 50, 60, and over, with all levels of experience encouraged and welcome to play.

The weekend begins on Friday, June 1, with early registration from 4 to 7 p.m., and continues through the championship games on Sunday afternoon. Every registered team is guaranteed at least three games, and each registered player receives a Gus Macker T-shirt. Trophies are awarded in each bracket for teams placing in the top three of their division.

This year’s tournament will mark the 10th annual Gus Macker in downtown Morris. Over the past nine years, over $92,000 has been donated back to local youth groups and nonprofit organizations as a result of the tournament’s success and the generous support of local sponsors. Major sponsors for this year’s event include The Morris Daily Herald and WCSJ/WJDK.

For more information about registering before the May 20 deadline, call the MDDP office at (815) 941-0245.

Last chance to sign up for Gus Macker basketball tournament

ACCESS DENIED

We are sorry to inform you that you have been temporarily blocked from this website.

You are browsing this site with:

Your IP address is:
174.120.170.66
(174.120.170.66)
<!–

Referring URL:

–>

Gus Macker coming to Chesaning

Posted: Thursday, April 26, 2012 11:45 am

Gus Macker coming to Chesaning

The Argus-Press

The Argus-Press

|
0 comments

CHESANING — It’s a first in Chesaning.

For the first time, the Gus Macker 3-on-3 basketball tournament is set to take to the streets in the Showboat City.

Mark the days on the calendar, June 23-24, on M-57.

Mark Ervin, age 41, has been instrumental in bringing the tournament to Chesaning. He hopes to bring up to 150 teams to the tournament.

He said that the area businesses are excited about the event and he hopes that the tournament will draw a good crowd of spectators.

To register for the tournament, simply go to macker.com.

• 
  Discuss
  
• Print
  
  
  

Posted in
Sports,
Sports local,
Chesaning,
Basketball

on

Thursday, April 26, 2012 11:45 am.

Return of the Macker

Return of the Macker

Published 9:46am Monday, April 23, 2012

Hot wings, beer and entertainment. Is there any other way to throw a party? If so, don’t tell the people who gathered to celebrate the start of the annual Gus Macker 3-on-3 basketball tournament, which begins May 19.

The annual party, held at Buffalo Wild Wings, has become an event all in its own.

“This is just a great atmosphere,” Jason VanSloten, tournament operator, said.

While taking advantage of the free drinks and food, the crowd watched numerous children participate in a free-throw contest in the parking lot.

“These events bring a lot of people together this time of the year,” Tony Wilson, EMT, said.

While the party was well represented, people realized that it was merely the prelude to the main event.

“People live and die (Gus) Macker,” VanSloten said.

Last year, the three-on-three tournament featured more than 200 teams. Approximately 10,000 people showed up just to watch the event.

“It is a big fundraiser,” VanSloten said. “Other than that, it brings people out. We shut down a street to have the tournament.”

Wilson believes that this tournament is one of the biggest events for Lawrence County.

“It’s in the top three of the year,” Wilson said. “It brings a lot of revenue to the city.”

Online registration deadline is April 30 and cost $124 per team.

Opening ceremonies will begin at 8 a.m. on May 19.

Gus Macker 3-on-3 basketball tournament coming to Chesaning, June 23-24 – The Saginaw News

View full sizeMark Ervin

CHESANING, MI — Mark Ervin isn’t sure what to expect, other than full hotels, campgrounds and restaurants.

And a closed state highway.

On Saturday and Sunday, June 23-24, downtown Chesaning will have a distinctive sound to it as the first Chesaning Gus Macker begins on M-57.

“We have a beautiful downtown … a great setup for a Macker tournament,” Ervin said. “The downtown streets are perfect, and we’re going to be able to shut it off to traffic.”

Ervin, 41, began working on bringing the Macker 3-on-3 Tournament to Chesaning after watching his son, 15-year-old Harrison, and daughter, 17-year-old Madeline, play in Gus Mackers last year.

“It was so much fun,” Ervin said. “My son played in the Greenville tournament. It was a great tournament, but when I looked at Greenville and looked at Chesaning, I thought there was no reason Chesaning couldn’t have a great Macker too.”

Meantime, organizers led by Ziggy Kozicki plan to bring the Macker back to Saginaw in 2013.

“It’s a great setting, a little different than Saginaw,” said Gus Macker founder and president Scott McNeal.
“We were excited when we heard they were interested. It’s the first
year, so we’re not real sure what to expect, numbers-wise.

“Saginaw is bigger, more parking lots, a more city setting. This is a small-town setting.”

Ervin, who lives in Chesaning, hopes to get up to 150 teams, with plenty of spectators to enjoy the tournament.

“If we didn’t have a town that I thought would do a nice family-friendly event, I wouldn’t even consider it,” Ervin said. “We’ve got a great campground a couple blocks from the event. We’ve got great restaurants, Showboat Park, hotels … everything is set up for a nice tournament.”

Anyone interested in playing in the Chesaning Macker can register at macker.com.

“All of the businesses were enthused,” Ervin said. “I can’t wait. It’s going to be great.

“The first year, I’d love to have 300 teams, but I try to be realistic. When we met with (Macker founder) Scott (McNeal), he said would could get close to 200 teams. There are a bunch of communities around Chesaning that love basketball but don’t have anything like a Macker, places like Freeland, Hemlock, Owosso, Perry, Clio, Swan Valley.

“This is a perfect place for this tournament.”

The tournament will coincide with the Mexican-American Festival in Chesaning.

“We didn’t set it up that way,” Ervin said. “The Macker doesn’t have any ties to the Mexican-American Festival, but it just adds one more event. We’ve got a lot of stuff going on in Chesaning.”

Shooting Stars – Las Cruces Sun

Click photo to enlargeBlue skies and long-range shooting accuracy returned Sunday and the Gus Macker 3-on-3 basketball tournament crowned champions in 35 brackets as the event concluded at the Field of Dreams.

A cool, sunny and breezy finale was a welcome sight to estimated 2,000 players lacing up their shoes for the annual event. The Gus Macker opened Saturday, accompanied by high winds, which whipped up dust and shrouded the tournament in a cloud of brown – not exactly ideal conditions for any shooters out there.

Sunday’s 63-degree high and comparatively light winds proved more friendly.

Stopping in Las Cruces since 1995, the Gus Macker typically benefits local nonprofit organizations, and this year was no different.

The Las Cruces Boys and Girls Club and Casa de Peregrinoswere the two organizations benefitting from proceeds of the tournament.

Las Cruces was the first stop on the Gus Macker’s 2012 schedule, according to the organization’s website. It will run tournaments in three other New Mexico cities – Alamogordo, Artesia and Hobbs – through the spring and summer.

Gusty Gus: Macker plays on despite strong winds – Las Cruces Sun

Click photo to enlargeLauren E. Toney/For the Sun-News

LAS CRUCES — Thousands of hoops enthusiasts competed against one another while also battling strong winds Saturday in the hopes of achieving Gus Macker victories during the first day of the annual 3-on-3 basketball tournament, held at the Field of Dreams.

“Saturday wasn’t the Gus Macker, it was the Gust Macker,” joked Ken Hoeksema, tournament director.

About 500 teams, made up of an estimated 2,000 players, braved the elements Saturday to compete on the temporary courts staged in the east parking lot of the Field of Dreams, 2501 Tashiro Road.

A similar number of players participated in last year’s Gus Macker, Hoeksema said.

In addition to the competition, made up of players from New Mexico and surrounding states, strong, relentless gusts of wind proved to be yet another challenger for Gus Macker competitors to contend with.

“It’s a new and different challenge for players, that’s for sure,” Hoeksema said of the weather conditions. “It’s not often you get to play in weather like this, but, I think most of the players are looking at it as just another challenge to test their abilities.”

He continued, “There’s definitely been a lot of layups today, because it’s been so difficult to shoot accurately from farther away.”

With winds reaching speeds of 35 to 45 mph on Saturday, according to a National Weather Service advisory, tournament organizers were mindful of players’ and spectators’ safety during the event.

“With

all of the basketball hoops and tents we have out here, we definitely don’t want to see anyone get injured if the wind should blow one of these over,” Hoeksema said. “Safety is absolutely our biggest concern.”

Although organizers planned to end matches early should winds reach speeds that would threaten participants’ safety, Hoeksema said that the tournament’s first day was a success, ending on schedule Saturday evening.

“We persevered and we made it through the day,” he said. “We definitely didn’t want to shut things down early if we didn’t have to. I think people are happy that we all stuck it out together. All of the players and spectators have had really great attitudes throughout the day.”

Noting the many players who traveled a long distance to compete in the tournament, he said, “If the weather forced us to end the day early, we would have caught up the following day, but for many people that would have just meant being stuck in a hotel room until then, and they came to play.”

Hoeksema noted one team in particular that traveled from Virginia to attend a family gathering in Las Cruces and play together in the tournament.

“We also see teams from Arizona, from throughout New Mexico and other states in the region,” he added.

Weather forecasts predict a much better environment for shooting hoops today as the Gus Macker continues on at the Field of Dreams.

“(Today) will be a much better day and we have another full day (or competition) planned,” Hoeksema said.

Following today’s matches, trophies will be awarded to the top team in each bracket of the tournament. The Gus Macker’s infamous “Toilet Bowl” trophies will also be awarded to the best team among the worst in each bracket.

Gus Macker tournaments are held annually throughout the U.S. and the Las Cruces contest has become one of the largest staged west of the Mississippi River, Hoeksema said.

This year’s tournament was capped at 500 teams to keep the competition manageable.

The Gus Macker again partnered with local nonprofit organizations for this year’s event, with the Boys and Girls Club of Las Cruces and Casa de Peregrinos selected to benefit from tournament proceeds.

With a mission to enable all young people, especially those who need it most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring and responsible citizens, the Boys and Girls Club of Las Cruces offers after-school programs to more than 400 children ages 6 to 18.

Casa de Peregrinos is a nonprofit and nondenominational emergency food program, providing free supplemental groceries to individuals and families at risk of hunger in Las Cruces and Dona Ana County. The food bank serves as a safety link for those unable to purchase nutritious food due to an emergency or unforeseen personal crisis.

The Gus Macker donates between $20,000 and $25,000 in tournament proceeds annually and organizers aim to contribute a similar amount following this year’s event, Hoeksema said.

First-time Gus Macker competitors, 14-year-olds Mariah Lucero, Ari Reyes, Becky Cortina and Mikayla Castillo, were confident that they would prevail victorious in the tournament despite a loss in their first game Saturday.

“We definitely want that first-place trophy, nothing else,” said a determined Reyes.

All eighth-grade students and members of the basketball team at Red Mountain Middle School in Deming, the teammates said they spent time practicing their favorite sport together to gear up for the annual basketball competition in Las Cruces.

“We spent time practicing just together,” Castillo said. “We’ve all been playing since we were little, like in fourth grade.”

Lucero added, “I think it’s a lot harder than we were expecting. There’s a lot of good competition.”

Between the fierce competition and the strong winds that whipped through the courts at the Field of Dreams on Saturday, the girls’ chosen team name, “Ballin’ Ain’t Easy,” certainly pertained to the environment at this year’s Gus Macker.

“We’re not giving up, though, and we definitely want to do it again next year,” Lucero said.

As a spectator, Castillo’s mother, Loretta Rivera, said, “I’m just proud of all of them for playing in this weather. They’re definitely brave.”

Team Thunder members Damian Chavez and Cory Edwards, both 14, appeared determined and not at all bothered by the rushing wind as they waited to play in a second match Saturday.

“We’re here to win,” Edwards said. “Anything but the Toilet Bowl, that’s our goal.”

Although team Thunder lost its first game in the tournament, Edwards and Chavez agreed that they were eager to make a comeback and prove themselves in the weekend’s remaining matches.

“It’s harder than we thought it would be,” Edwards said. “And the wind is definitely not on our side.”

The team’s first time competing in the Gus Macker, Chavez said he and his teammates, who attend eighth grade at Picacho Middle School, also play for the school’s basketball team.

Having practiced together to prepare for the tournament, Chavez said, “We tried some of the plays we practiced in our first game.”

However, the wind interfered with many of team Thunder’s moves. “None of the plays we had practiced worked that well today,” Edwards said. “The wind just made it impossible to shoot (from a distance).”

Taking the weather on as another challenger in the tournament, Chavez said, “We’ve learned that we’ll have to be stronger when it comes to defense.”

Added Edwards, “We’ll have to change our strategy for the next game, that’s all.”

Lauren E. Toney can be reached at lauren.toney@gmail.com.

Muncie Gus Macker tournament likely no more

<!–Saxotech Paragraph Count: 16
–>

Even when SAFY had financial backers, it swung a deficit.

According to Rusty Alexander, the senior vice president of business development in the national SAFY office in Delphos, Ohio, the organization lost considerable money hosting the Muncie tournament.

SAFY lost $27,500 as the tournament sponsor in its three years — $8,000 in 2009, $14,000 in 2010 and $5,500 last year.

Due to the negative bottom line, Alexander said SAFY informed Macker officials after last year’s tournament it would not likely return as the sponsor organization in Muncie.

The search for a replacement sponsor is coming up empty.

“We wanted to try to find someone to take over the sponsorship, but no one would take the reins,” Thomas said.

It will be the first time in more than two decades the tournament won’t be in Muncie.

Only one Macker tournament site in the country has held the annual event more consecutive years. It’s been held 25 straight years — going on 26 this summer — in Belding, Mich., the hometown to Macker headquarters.

In its heyday, the Muncie Macker hosted more than 1,000 teams. With four players per team and at least a couple of supporters for each player, it was a massive gathering each year.

Numbers, though, steadily declined in recent years.

In 2005 there were 482 teams, 360 in 2006, 320 in 2007, 307 in 2008, 267 in 2009 and 231 in 2010.

Last year’s tournament actually saw in increase of 24 teams over the previous year with 255 squads.

While SAFY was the sponsor organization the last three years, Vicki Hornbaker volunteered her time as the tournament director the last two.

“It’s history. Muncie Gus Macker is one of the first Mackers. That’s pretty much a legacy, a heritage,” Hornbaker said. “We have a lot of families that play generationally. I think it’s a shame to lose that, I really do.”

McNeal wouldn’t call this year’s Muncie tournament dead altogether.

But he says for there to be a tournament here this summer, a local organization must surface that can pay the $10,000 fee. If that happens, McNeal says he’d consider owning the rest of the tournament himself — handling the other costs — so that a new sponsor could get established and take full financial responsibility the following year.

Deadline approaching to register for Gus Macker – Las Cruces Sun

Click photo to enlarge

Get a copy of the mail-in tournament application.

To register for this year’s Gus Macker tournament online.

LAS CRUCES – Jimmie Torres has been shooting at least a hundred free throws a day for a couple of months now, working on his game skills, and – by his own admission – his “game face.”

He and his 12-year-old friends want to be ready for this year’s Gus Macker 3-on-3 basketball tournament, to be played April 14 through April 15 at the Field of Dreams.

“Basketball is my favorite sport,”

said Torres, as he lofted yet another toss toward the basket. “I try to play every day, if I can, but my dad and mom won’t let me if I’m starting to do bad in school. So, I make sure my grades are good. I want my team and me to be ready. We’ve done pretty good the last two years. Hopefully, we’re good enough to win one of those trophies.”

Torres will be among the hundreds of Las Crucens who will be joined by other basketball players, young and old, from throughout southern New Mexico and other areas of the state who will lace up their sneakers and give it all they’ve got in the Gus Macker. They’ll replace March Madness with “April Anxiety.”

“This is the third year we’re going to do this, and we just want to improve on what has turned

out to be a positive event for so many people,” said Ken Hoeksema, tournament director. “We feel like turned this into a good family-oriented event where everyone can come and enjoy themselves.”

Of all the Gus Macker tournaments conducted annually across the U.S., Las Cruces’ event has become one of largest staged west of the Mississippi River. To help keep the tournament manageable, this year’s event will be capped at 500 teams.

“There was a time that participation had dropped, but it’s

back to the maximum,” Hoeksema said.

The Gus Macker tournament began in Las Cruces in 1995.

“It’s just a good time,” said Roberta Suarez, who has played in the tournament the last five years in a row, and seven of the past eight. “It’s pretty organized and the players, from all over, are pretty good. It’s good competition but it’s fun because it’s not all about competition.”

An underlying theme of the tournament is to help nonprofit organizations in Las Cruces. This year the Las Cruces Boys and Girls Club and Casa de Peregrinos will be the two organizations that will benefit from the proceeds of the tournament.

The mission of the Boys and Girls Club of Las Cruces is to enable all young people, especially those who need us

most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring, and responsible citizens. The club offers after-school and summer programs to more than 400 children from 6-years old to 18.
Casa de Peregrinos is a nonprofit and nondenominational emergency food program which provides free supplemental groceries to individuals and families at risk of hunger in Las Cruces and Doña Ana County. The food bank serves as a safety link for those unable to purchase nutritious food due to an emergency or unforeseen personal crisis.

“It’s a good partnership to have,” Hoeksema said. “It’s important for a lot of non-profits to collaborate, and it’s helpful to stress we’re trying to be collaborative.”

Registration deadlines for this year’s event are

approaching. Hoeksema said entries submitted by conventional mail are due by March 23. Mail-in forms are available at Pic Quik stores in Las Cruces, Anthony and Hatch.

Entries submitted through Gus Macker’s Internet site, www.macker.com, are due by March 26. The entry fee for a four-player team is $136.
“I’d say 98 to 99 percent of applications come from online,” Hoeksema said. “With that understanding, we’re just trying to get the word out now that the deadline for entries is coming up pretty fast.”

To enhance the family-oriented experience at the Gus Macker tournament, a new wrinkle has been added this year. Hoeksema said a carnival with kiddie rides will be available.

But as always, trophies will be awarded to the top team in

each bracket of the tournament. Gus Macker’s “Toilet Bowl” trophy will also go to the worst team in each bracket, which has become a tournament tradition.

Hoeksema reminded that the team in each bracket who exhibits the best sportsmanship will be given medals.

Steve Ramirez can be reached at (575) 541-5452. Also follow him on Twitter: @SteveRamirez6.

Hoops, hoops and more hoops
The Gus Macker 3-on-3 basketball tournament began in Las Cruces in 1995.
This year’s tournament will be played April 14-15 in the east parking lot of the Field of Dreams, also known as the Las Cruces Public Schools Sports Complex.
Registration deadlines are: March 23 for entries submitted by mail; March 26 for registrations submitted online.
The cost to enter a team in the tournament is $136, and that guarantees three games, and a tournament T-shirt.
The tournament will be limited to the first 500 teams that register.
Every game during the tournament will include a certified referee.
Information: (575) 635-1562

Gus Macker founder Scott McNeal promises a safer, kinder Saginaw basketball … – The Saginaw News

Don’t have an account?

Register now for free, or sign in with any of these services:

• AIM
• Google
• OpenID