Jamestown's second Street JAM and 16th annual 3-on-3 basketball tournament will hit the streets Saturday and Sunday.
Last year, after 14 years of hosting the classic Gus Macker basketball tournament, Jamestown took the event, hosting its homegrown 3-on-3 basketball tournament - Street JAM.
The Resource Center, the event's host, rallied to create Jamestown's own tournament last year, drawing about 260 teams to the city's streets. Enrollment has seen a healthy growth from last year and is up roughly 15 percent.
"Last year was our first year and we didn't have a lot of time to necessarily advertise and roll out our plan," said Victoria Trass Bardo, tournament director. "This year, everyone is used to playing street basketball the first weekend of June and now they are back in the groove. They saw what a quality tournament it was in 2011, and I think people were very happy to sign up if they missed out last year."
In addition to its new name, the tournament saw some other changes last year, including state-of-the-art basketball hoops and new-look trophies. Bardo said one of the major benefits of being in control of the tournament is that it gives local merchants a chance to participate, as the organizers were able to purchase the goods and services for the event locally, instead of purchasing things like T-shirts, equipment, supplies and insurance from out-of-state companies, as the tournament did under Gus Macker.
"We're also able to keep all of the proceeds for our charity, which is Filling the Gap," she said. "We are raising money for persons' with disabilities, and we wanted to make sure that we optimized all of the net proceeds."
Fact Box
Street Jam
When: Saturday and Sunday beginning at 8:30 a.m. and 9 a.m. respectively
Where: West Third Street between Main and Monroe streets. (Traffic should use Fourth and Second streets)
Related Events:
- AND1 Street Ball game, 7 p.m. Saturday, JSBA
- 'Hoosiers,' 9 p.m. Saturday, outdoor Winter Garden Plaza
On average, the tournament raises $15,000 to $20,000. Bardo said that's not necessarily a lot of money, however, visibility and awareness are big components to the tournament, as well as giving back to the community.
New to the tournament this year, the Resource Center is partnering with the Jamestown Savings Bank Arena to host an AND1 Street Ball game. The AND1 Live Street Ball Tour, which has been showcased on ESPN, is a traveling basketball competition and exhibition. The group travels from town to town and challenges teams comprised of local talent.
Five Post-Journal high school basketball players of the year will be part of a self-described ''Dream Team'' that will take on a touring AND1 squad Saturday at 7 p.m. inside the Jamestown Savings Bank Arena.
General admission tickets are $11 with a discounted $8 ticket for Street Jam participants. Presale tickets are available by calling 484-2624, stopping at the arena box office or logging on to jamestownarena.com. The arena box office will also be open through Street Jam registration and all day Saturday.
Following the game, the Jamestown Renaissance Corporation is hosting and sponsoring a showing of the film "Hoosiers" at the outdoor Winter Garden Plaza at 9 p.m on Saturday.
The tournament will take place on West Third Street, between Main and Monroe streets, where it has been located for the past five years. The first game of the tournament will be at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, with games continuing through Saturday afternoon and restarting at 9 a.m. Sunday. To view the tournament brackets or more information, visit www.trcstreetjam.com.
Travelers should note that Third Street, from Monroe to Washington streets, will be closed starting at 7 a.m. today. Traffic should use Fourth and Second streets when moving east and west. The closed section should be reopened by 8 p.m. on Sunday.