Annual Guy Coraccio Basketball Tournament A Success

The 21st Annual Westford Youth Basketball Association ‘Guy Coraccio’ All-Star tournament was held on Saturday, February 18th and Sunday, February 19th at the Blanchard Middle School in Westford, MA.  Hundreds of spectators enjoyed watching boy and girl recreational all-star basketball players between the grades of 5 and 8 from Westford, Chelmsford, Billerica and Hudson, NH participating in the annual competition which is also the Westford Youth Basketball Association’s (WYBA) only fundraiser. Chelmsford and Billerica have participated with Westford in this event all 21 years.

The WYBA thanks our tireless veteran tournament committee, our generous patrons, the wonderful area businesses who supported the event and the many volunteers including numerous High School students who gave their time to making this event so successful.  The committee consists of Westford residents Diane Chrysikos, Lisa Hyslip, Joe Mario, Fran English, Judy Victory, Tracy LeBlanc Cook, Mike Leary, Brett Fleckner, Bill Breslin, Michele Walker, Sue Hanly, Debbie Teal, Ken Teal and Guy Coraccio.  Special thanks goes to our two Tournament announcers and raffle coordinators, Jillian and Taryn Chrysikos and the fantastic custodians at Blanchard Middle School.

Special thanks go to Bertucci’s of Chelmsford, BJs Wholesale Club and Printing Solutions of Westford for their generosity and to our many patrons who sponsored this tournament with financial contributions. 

Division Results

Fifth and Sixth grade boys:

Saturday

Billerica 39 - Westford 27

Billerica 58 - Chelmsford 25

Sunday

Westford 31 – Chelmsford 16

Billerica 32 – Tyngsboro 12

Billerica won the Championship.

Fifth and Sixth grade girls:

Saturday

Westford 24 – Chelmsford 16

Westford 26 – Billerica 17

Sunday

Billerica 17 - Chelmsford 13

Westford 14 - Billerica 11

Westford won the Championship.

Division Results (continued)

Seventh and Eigth grade boys:

Saturday

Chelmsford 67 – Westford 61

Billerica 51 – Hudson, NH 25

Sunday

Hudson, NH 47 – Westford 31

Billerica 50 – Chelmsford 44

Billerica won the Championship.

Seventh and Eighth grade girls:

Saturday

Billerica 29 – Chelmsford – 19

Billerica 26 - Westford 22

Sunday

Chelmsford 24 - Westford 12

Billerica 35 - Chelmsford 18

Billerica won the Championship.

The tournament was created in 1991 by Westford resident Guy Coraccio and current tournament coordinator, who developed this tournament as a way to recognize players who have excelled in their town leagues but are not on travel or select teams.  “This tournament creates an opportunity for many very strong players to receive recognition for all of their hard work and talent," states Guy.  

The tournament has enabled the Westford Youth Basketball Association (WYBA) to give more than 130 college scholarships to Westford Academy Seniors, and more than $20,000 in basketball-related gifts to Westford schools. In addition, the organization uses funds generated by the All Star tournament and other contributions to pay WYBA registration fees for children who could not otherwise afford to play recreational basketball in the town.

Since the All Star tournament began, 336 games have been played and more than 3,900 All-Stars have participated in the event, many coming back as coaches.