With having 256 teams, the tournament needed an additional unit this year with a total of 23 units. The Macker committee decided in a meeting leading up to the tournament that two of the youth courts, including Court ‘B’ would be placed near the front of the Norwich High School gymnasium parking lot. Courts were a bit tighter this year, but everyone still had a great time. (Photo by Morgan Golliver)

NORWICH – Another successful Gus Macker Tournament is in the books after the annual event took place at Norwich High School last weekend. Norwich celebrated its 26th year of hosting the tournament and is set to become Macker’s second longest running tournament in the nation. While Macker’s headquarters in Belding, Michigan holds a tournament that’s been in place for 36 years, Norwich will be the longest running tournament by a non-profit organization with the Norwich Family YMCA.

The School’s Tremendous Cooperation

As the tournament was held at the Norwich High School last year, Jamey Mullen and Tom Revoir, the Norwich Family YMCA and Macker tournament directors, already knew what to expect of the location and where to set everything up with only small tweaks.

Revoir cannot thank the Norwich City School District enough for all their help.

“The Norwich City School District went above and beyond and did everything that we needed. Joe Alger, Jim Mucha of the building and grounds, Scott Ryan, and the maintenance staff all worked on making this tournament happen,” he said. “ Everything coordinated perfectly and we’re so darn lucky for all the help.”

Gratitude for Sponsors

Revoir and Mullen also express gratitude to all the in-kind and monetary sponsors. Without them, the tournament wouldn't be the same nor even run without funding and generous support.

Will MacGuire and Live Event NY went above and beyond expectations. His staff provided tables, chairs, tents, the sound stage with all the equipment, a play zone that featured racing simulators and even made sure there was enough help at all stations. Rentals To Go were also big help as they handled the generators, dumpsters for garbage, and the porta pottys. Preferred Mutual helped with the dream court and handed out t-shirts for all the kids.

The support was not limited to only these three sponsors, but from everyone. It was all a community effort to also drive the success of the tournament from the school and sponsors to the volunteers and kids playing.

“Quality over Quantity”

Norwich had 256 teams in this year’s tournament, which was the third smallest tournament size in the 26th year history. Numbers matter, but it’s the quality of the tournament that means more than the quantity. In the past, downtown Norwich had seen 300-400 teams filling East Main Street, but that was not possible for the past two years.

Revoir also thought it was fitting to not extend the registration deadline after 256 teams signed up for space concerns. If he extended the deadline, the tournament could’ve had over 300 teams and put more pressure on spacing with the possibility to double every aspect from another sound stage to another brackets tent.

With 256 teams, an additional unit was needed, marking a total of 23 units altogether. The courts were a little tighter this year as they were less than five feet apart, which was a bit of a layout issue. However, the tournament had a great turnout, despite this mishap, especially with overcoming a big challenge in the beginning.

Great Turnout for Volunteers

Getting enough volunteers is always a big challenge for Mullen and Revoir, but the help came through this year.

“ This year was our best year out of the last 25 years, where we had just enough volunteers and everyone filled in where and when they were needed,” Revoir said.

Tom’s advertising on social media push helped get more referees, where he and Mullen didn’t have to help fill in as much than in the past years. However, Revoir would’ve like more certified officials.

He continues to reach out to the referee association boards to encourage more to sign up and use macker as a “training ground.” Revoir has found that there aren’t a lot of new referees in general, but hopes for more to “jump on board” and also help out with Macker in years to come.

Macker is for Everyone

The Gus Macker organization’s motto of “anyone can play basketball” stands true for Norwich. The youngest player participating in the tournament was five years old while the oldest player was 57. Both players were male with a total of 68 percent males to 32 percent females rounding out the tournament.

While there is no age restriction, the statistics continue to prove that the tournament is youth oriented. 68 percent of all participants were 17 and under while 16 percent were players 18 to 24 years of age and the percentages decreased for the final age ranges, capping off with two percent 40 and above. The game remains open to everyone, where sweat and smiles are seen on faces young and old and everlasting memories are made.

Overcoming Sunday’s Rain

Sunday’s final day of the tournament brought on a heavy down pour for several hours, but that didn’t stop the games. With Revoir, Mullen, the Gus Macker staff, and the Emergency management team following the forecast, they held a private meeting Saturday afternoon to discuss a plan ahead of time. The first option was to go by game number and not by game time.

With a brief meeting Sunday morning, the final plan was to go by game number and shorten the games to 15 minutes rather than 25. Also, the winner could win by 10 points, straight out or whoever had the most points when time ran out. All teams and volunteers were advised to report to their courts at 8 a.m.

This plan helped push games along with many courts ending two hours ahead. Some courts were still going on that held a large amount of teams, allowing other brackets that were not being used to be tore down and cleaned up. Revoir also observed that Sunday’s plan had teams playing better with “banging” out 10 points right away while he felt Saturday’s scorching temperatures rather dragged games on or it was harder for teams to make good shots.

However, Revoir was impressed with how quickly the tournament wrapped up. He was also appreciative of the help cleaning up, especially from the help of Zach Thorpe and volunteers from the City Church, located on Silver Street in Norwich.

Revoir, Mullen, and the Norwich Family YMCA, cannot thank the community enough for all their support every year.

The Return of the Sportsmanship Award

After the Gus Macker organization eliminated it due to increased costs, Norwich was the only tournament, so far, to bring back the sportsmanship award. The Norwich Family YMCA was grateful for Burrell’s Excavating and KMC Sand & Gravel for sponsoring this year’s award, which was assigned at every court. Scorekeepers and referees were in charge of deciding which team, trying to exclude the top three teams, deserved the valued award.

Revoir and Mullen were appreciative to have this award back as well.

“It’s important because it reflects our philosophy here at the YMCA,” Mullen said.

The Norwich Family YMCA’s philosophy has been and continues to be focused on men, women and children joining together by a shared commitment to nurturing the potential of kids (youth development), promoting healthy living, and fostering a sense of social responsibility.

As the sportsmanship award means a lot to the YMCA and to the kids who receive attention for their positive attitude, everyone hopes it is here to stay.

Early Outlook for Next Year

It is currently unknown where the location of the 2024 Norwich Gus Macker tournament will be, but the tournament will happen. The decision may not be made until early next year. Revoir, Mullen, and the Norwich macker committee will sit down and have their own wrap up meeting in the next week or so to discuss this year’s tournament and potential plans for next year.

However, Revoir is seeking feedback from the community on where they’d like the tournament to be next year. He proposes the question to players, volunteers, or just the general public on if they’d prefer Macker to remain at the Norwich High School or back to downtown Norwich and give reasons to back up their decision. This proposition could help even the committee to decide where to hold the tournament next year and in the years to come.

Since this year’s tournament wrapped up, the YMCA continues to receive positive feedback on their social media page about the successful turnout.

Revoir, Mullen, the Norwich Family YMCA, and the Gus Macker organization, are anticipating the beloved tournament’s return to Norwich in the summer of 2024. A full photo page of this year’s event can be found on page 20.