CORTLAND, N.Y. — The Cortland Regional Sports Council and Central Western AAU are partnering once again to host the 2017 Cortland Shootout. This year marks the 13th year of the AAU sanctioned Basketball Tournament. In an effort to keep the tournament attractive to out of town teams, a Friday night College Showcase game will take place for 10th & 11th grade players in the tournament.
Kicking off with the showcase games on Friday night March 17th and for two more days this weekend - March 18th and 19th, over 120 teams are expected in Cortland competing for their age group title. Several local teams including the Cortland Basketball Club will be in the tournament field. The registration deadline is March 10th.
“The College Showcase Games will be held at Corey Gym on SUNY Cortland’s campus. Girls tip off at 6:00pm and Boys at 8:00pm.” said tournament director, Rich Hill. Coaches from Division II & III plus Junior College coaches have been invited to attend. “With the NYSPHSAA Boys Basketball Championships being held in Binghamton this year, we hope coaches take advantage of the close proximity to Cortland and attend the Showcase event.” stated Hill.
Tournament games will be contested at several Cortland area locations: Park Center/Corey Gym and Lusk Field house at SUNY Cortland, the Cortland Junior-Senior High School, TC3’s Sports Complex and the County Office Building Gym. Age groups from under 11 to under 17 will be playing.
“Part of what defines an event’s success is its return. In this case, not only is the tournament back in Cortland, but so are many of the teams from previous years. Teams from Canada, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York will be here to participate in our tournament. This tells me that we’re doing something right,” said Machell Phelps, executive director of the CRSC. “Another overwhelming measure of success is the growth in registrations for the tournament. We started with 36 teams in 2005 and realized we needed to cap entries around 130 teams in order to put on a quality event. The tournament reaches capacity before the deadline each year.”
“Beyond the competition and fun for the participating teams, there is also an economic benefit for the Cortland community,” Phelps said. “With this many teams in town for two days, area hotels, restaurants, gas stations and stores are bound to benefit.”
The Cortland Regional Sports Council, which took over running the Empire State Senior Games and brought the NYSPHSAA Girls State Soccer Championships to Cortland, invites the community to come out and support the tournament. There is a nominal entry fee for adults. Age group finals will take place Sunday afternoon, starting around 1 p.m. You can view the complete schedule at www.centralwestern.org or www.cortlandsports.org.
