Only good sports need apply

Sat., June 24, 2006

Somer Breeze Staff writer

Hoopfest organizers want players to bring their game, not their attitudes.

As the largest 3-on-3 tournament in the world enters its 17th year, a new sportsmanship program has been implemented to promote good behavior among players, coaches, parents and fans.

Hoopfest has received financial support from McDonald’s to reward acts of good sportsmanship and respect toward opponents. Court marshals will be handing out 800 backpacks to parents and older players at the tournament, and 1,000 glow-in-the-dark bracelets for the younger crowd, to promote good behavior.

“Hopefully it will shed good light on Hoopfest,” said Brady Crook, executive director of Hoopfest. “It will not be known only for the 3-on-3 competition but will also be known for its sportsmanship and good behavior.”

Crook initiated the sportsmanship program last May and received support from the staff to put it into play.

“We don’t have an issue yet,” Crook said about bad sportsmanship. “We wanted to jump on this and address it early.”

Over the past two years, Hoopfest has made rule changes to keep players and onlookers in check, including the ejection policy, which was added last year. A few players were ejected during the first day of the 2005 tournament, but when the word spread, rowdy behavior calmed down.

“There is no place in Hoopfest for trash-talking,” Crook said. “We hope to promote (good behavior) through rewarding.”

The new program is intended to keep the games clean and give volunteer court monitors a break, too.

Hoopfest Operations Manager Chad Smith recruits and trains the volunteers who work the courts. He said verbally abusive players and parents in the past have left some volunteers feeling unwilling to return.

Smith, who has been with Hoopfest for five years, said there are certain people at the tournament, like the younger children’s parents and coaches, who are verbally abusive to the volunteers.

“We needed to do something to address it,” Smith said. “We developed a sports committee and brainstormed ideas and programs.”

The Hoopfest staff is not expecting this new program to cure all poor sportsmanship right off the bat, but they think the positive reinforcement of good behavior will spread throughout the tournament.

“Ninety-five percent of our courts are fantastic,” Smith said. “But it’s just that five percent.”

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