Hoops Madness founder and organizer Brien Tilley explains some rules to participants.

by Brendan Sample

Now coming up on its fifth consecutive year, the Hoops Madness 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament is set to once again bring together kids and adults in the community for a lively day filled with plenty of basketball games. The event, held by the Chestnut Hill Community Association, will take place on Saturday, March 25, from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. and will be held at Springside Chestnut Hill academy on 500 West Willow Grove Ave.

While not a whole lot has changed with the tournament since it first started, there are some changes that have been made to the format. According to Brien Tilley, former CHCA president and coordinator of the event, this year will also feature a skills competition in addition to the usual games going on.

Hoops Madness will also be bringing back plenty of sponsors to help fund and work the event, and some of them will even be giving out prizes to winning teams. Cosimo’s Pizza will be providing pizza parties to the winning team in each age group, FitLife Fitness, Aquatics & Physical Therapy, will give out memberships to adults who win their brackets and Scoogi’s Classic Italian restaurant will be giving out gift certificates to winning participants. Other sponsors include Bowman Properties, Elfant Wissahickon Realtors, Chestnut Hill Hospital and McNally’s Tavern, some of which have been sponsoring the event from its beginning.

One sponsor that has been of particular help this year is Matt Paul Sports, an organization that runs after-school sports programs for kids in the area. Paul and several of his coaches have volunteered their time to help out with Hoops Madness, including being referees for the various matches.

“His [Matt Paul’s] sponsorship in the form of getting down and doing this with us has been a real key in making this happen,” Tilley said.

Registration for Hoops Madness will remain open through the night before, though a limited amount of people may be able to register on the day of the event. Tilley is also still welcoming volunteers to be referees, help kids get into the gym and work the snack bar.

While there are still aspects of Hoops Madness that need to be finished for next Saturday, the volunteers running the event are confident that it will be another success.

“Our goal is always to make this a fun event for both kids and the adults who play,” Tilley said. “I think we’ll accomplish that this year. I think it’ll be even bigger this year, and there’ll be even more players than normal.”