Hooplandia, the Northeast’s Ultimate 3x3 Basketball Tourney + Festival, wrapped up Sunday afternoon following a successful weekend of fun and competitive tournament play, instructional clinics and festival activities at the Eastern States Exposition (ESE) complex in West Springfield, Mass. Select youth division championship games were played on the Jerry Colangelo “Court of Dreams” at the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass.
The event, June 21-23, attracted hundreds of teams, accumulating more than a thousand participants and spectators from throughout the New England region and nationally. Hooplandia hosted participants who traveled from distances like Texas, Virgnia, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Divisions spanned ages from youth through adult, in addition to Hoops & Heroes for military and first responders, sponsored by the Hampden County Sheriff’s Department, and Special Olympics.
Friday Night Hooptacular, June 21, was a free community event featuring skills competitions, Hooplandia’s Sportsmanship Award presentation, sponsored by Bulkley Richardson, to honoree Professor Emily Must of UMass Amherst’s Isenberg School of Management, and the annual Battle of the Springfield’s rivalry game. Battle of the Springfields starred the best players from West Springfield and Springfield. Springfield, representing Mayor Dominic Sarno, took home the trophy for both girls and boys rivalry games. West Springfield’s Michael Mahan, representing Mayor Will Reichelt, won the 3-Point Skills Challenge.
Festival highlights included appearances by Azzi Fudd, of UConn Women’s Basketball; a contingent of players from UMass Men’s Basketball; and the Boston Celtics Dancers. Instructional clinics were held by Katie and Tim Fudd, founders of GTS Fusion; Showboat Jackson of the Harlem Wizards; Lou Roe, former NBA player and All-American NCAA star from UMass Amherst; Chaz Williams, international player and former NCAA point-guard for UMass Amherst; and Springfield-native Joseph Bunce-Grenon, also known as Joe the Jet of the Harlem Wizards.
Buildings and Fan Zones hosted special activations by the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, Connecticut Sun, GameFlo, Sneaker Queens Customs, ARCY Live! and more. The annual mural, designed and painted by ARCY Live!, paid homage to USA Basketball’s National Team participating in the upcoming Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
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Hooplandia producers, ESE and the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, partnered with numerous local companies to sponsor the event, emphasizing Hooplandia’s community-centric mission. Sponsors included: Bulkley Richardson, PeoplesBank, Hampden County Sheriff’s Department, Coca-Cola Northeast, Baystate Health, Your New England Ford Dealers, Westfield Bank, Collin’s Electric, Hot Table and Tandem Bagel.
ESE’s multifunctional facility afforded the flexibility to navigate the unpredictable inclement weather conditions that prevailed on all three days. Programming was able to continue seamlessly while shifting from outdoor to indoor play between raindrops.