Street JAM basketball tournament a success

A member of the Dirty Cheetahs passes the ball to a teammate during a game against the Buckwilders on the Top Women’s Court.

The first year of the Street JAM three-on-three basketball tournament was declared a success, with players, referees and spectators praising the new format and making plans to attend again next year.

Street JAM was held June 4 and 5 on the streets of downtown Jamestown, with more than 250 teams participating.  Despite about a 90-minute delay early Saturday afternoon due to a thunderstorm, the tournament went off as planned.

This was the 15th annual outdoor basketball tournament in the Jamestown area.  After operating for 14 years under the name of a national tournament, this year organizers decided to conduct the entire tournament by themselves in order to keep more of the money from the tournament in the local community.  The Resource Center was the presenting sponsor of Street JAM.

Activities began Friday morning as volunteers armed with duct tape began outlining the pavement as West Third Street was transformed into 20 basketball courts.  As this was going on, employees of Team Hoops began erecting the basket assemblies.  The state-of-the-art equipment drew favorable comments from players as they warmed up in preparation for the weekend’s basketball action.  In late afternoon, the traditional Sponsors Tournament was held.

Street JAM officially began shortly after 8:00 a.m. Saturday.  Teams had been assigned to courts based on players’ gender, age and basketball experience.  Street JAM is a double-elimination tournament; teams losing their first two games were then assigned to a separate “Golden Brick” tournament and battled one another.

One of the things that make the Jamestown three-on-three tournament such a success each year is the presence of certified basketball officials who volunteer their time to referee most of the courts.  The refs put in long days, working one game after another, and their dedication and professionalism were appreciated by organizers, players and fans.

Most teams played two or three games Saturday.  The first team to score 15 points won each game, and there was a 25-minute time limit per game.  The schedule was thrown off for a while when a storm blow through shortly after noon.  The Jamestown Savings Bank Arena serves as the focal point of the tournament, so once lightning was spotted players, spectators and officials sought shelter inside to ride out the storm.  When play resumed, a 20-minute time limit was implemented to get the tournament back on schedule.

While the basketball games were being played, the street vendors who were set up at various locations were doing a brisk supplying players and fans with food and drinks.

In the late afternoon, spectators were treated to an exhibition of basketball skills when members of Chautauqua County’s Special Olympics basketball team played a scrimmage game against one another.  Fans also were treated to the finals of the Wee Jam slam dunk contest for children and a performance by members of the Demarco Sisters School of Dance.

The action then shifted inside the arena for the adult slam dunk competition.  In previous years, this popular event was held outside, and it was difficult for everyone to see the dunk attempts.  Moving the contest inside the arena enabled hundreds of people to have a birds-eye view.

Because the height of the Team Hoops baskets can be adjusted, another new feature this year was a slam dunk contest for people under 6 feet tall.  That event drew a lot of competitors and was a hit with fans.

On Sunday, the regular tournament resumed, and play continued until a champion had been crowned on each court.  Rather than give teams a trophy, this year each member of the first-, second- and third-place teams, as well as the teams winning the sportsmanship award, were given a plaque.  A photographer was on hand to take team pictures and include the picture on each plaque.

Winners of the Golden Brick tournaments were given a Street JAM brick as a prize.

After the basketball action wrapped up late Sunday afternoon, West Third Street was returned to its usual state.  Street JAM organizers were thrilled with how smoothly the tournament ran and were buoyed by the positive comments of players and fans.

“Year one was a success measured by the sheer number of excited players, spectators and generous sponsors,” said Victoria Trass Bardo, The Resource Center’s special projects and events coordinator, who has been the director of the tournament since it began in 1997.  “I applaud the planning committee and all volunteers for stepping up their efforts to make Street JAM a smooth transition into a new Jamestown tradition.  We look forward to next year, and as always the first weekend in June is all about basketball in Jamestown.”

Proceeds from Street JAM will be used to support people with disabilities in Chautauqua County.  Operating the entire tournament locally will enable all of the proceeds from the event to remain in the community.  In addition, organizers were able to go to local businesses to supply items needed in connection with the tournament – things like T-shirts, basketballs and signs – that previously were supplied by the national organization.

“Great job!” exclaimed Greg Krauza of the Chautauqua County Chamber of Commerce, who volunteered his time to serve as Street JAM co-chairman.  “We really were able to accomplish our three goals: we raised funds that allow us to provide services to clients of The Resource Center, we assisted in the continued efforts to showcase downtown Jamestown and we provided a quality event for the community.  We learned from the experience and expect next year to be bigger and better."

"It was a huge challenge, but thanks to the support throughout the entire community, Street JAM is only going to get bigger and better," added Mark Olson of Axiom Office Imaging, who served as Street JAM co-chair with Krauza. 

Results, photographs and other information from Street JAM are available online at www.trcstreetjam.com.