The tournament is hosted by the city of Jamestown, Collaborative Children’s Solutions and signature sponsor Southern Chautauqua Federal Credit Union.

“The Gus Macker Tournament is one of the highlights of the summer in Jamestown,” said Patrick Smeraldo, president of Collaborative Children’s Solutions. “We are thrilled to once again bring this incredible event to our community, and we are grateful to the City of Jamestown, SUNY JCC, our sponsors, and our dedicated volunteers who make it all possible.”

Beyond basketball, the event will feature food vendors, music and family-friendly activities. The tournament enters its third and final year of the contract held with Collaborative Children’s Solutions and will look to bring new partners in to assure its presence in the community for years to come.

“The Macker is a natural fit for Jamestown and Chautauqua County and has proven to be a financial shot in the arm for hotels, restaurants and retail suppliers in our area” Smeraldo said. “The Macker is a costly project for a tiny company like ours so we are actively soliciting community partners to assist with some of the financial burden, offer their company services in trade for sponsorship as a way to support it and working with established community agencies and organizations to gain volunteers and offer them a chance to share in a financial windfall to support their own mission.”

Collaborative Children’s Solutions President Patrick Smeraldo meets with the Fusion AAU Program. From left are Patrick Smeraldo, Amanda Kolstee, McKenna Kolstee and Josh Daniels.

An organizing partner – local AAU basketball program Fusion – will add volunteers and expertise to the local Macker organizing committee and give Fusion an opportunity to share in the profits from the tournament.

Team registration is now open. To sign up or learn more, visit: macker.com/local/jamestown-ny.

Numerous volunteer and sponsorship opportunities are also available. For more information, email Smeraldo at ccsolutions716@gmail.com or visit Gus Macker Jamestown NY on Facebook.

CCS-TV will provide live coverage of the Gus Macker Tournament, with the broadcast schedule to be announced in early summer. The student focused broadcast channel can be viewed online at CCS-TV.com, Roku, YouTube, and via the CCS-TV mobile app. The app is available for download on Apple App Store and Google Play Store by searching “CCS-TV.”