WYBA Annual All Star Tournament and Fundraiser at Blanchard Middle School Feb. 16-17

The 22nd Annual Westford Youth Basketball Association All-Star Invitational Tournament will be held on February 16 and 17, 2013 at the Blanchard Middle School on 14 West Street in Westford, MA. Recreational basketball players between the grades of 5th and 8th will be coming from Westford, Chelmsford, Dracut and Billerica, MA to participate in the annual all-star and fundraising event.

Games are held between 8 a.m and 7 p.m. each day and are always very exciting and well attended. A detailed schedule is available at the WYBA Website, http://www.westfordhoops.com/.

The tournament was created in 1991 by Westford resident Guy Coraccio, who developed this event as a way to recognize players who have excelled in their town leagues but are not on travel or school teams. “This tournament creates an opportunity for many accomplished players who would not usually get this recognition”, states Guy. “The great talent seen at this tournament demonstrates the depth of each of these town programs. Many players who have starred in this event have gone on to play for their school teams at a very high level”. In 2009 this event was named in Guy’s honor as a recognition of his efforts to make this the classic it is.

The Westford tournament has raised significant funds for Westford schools and students in its 22-year history. Since 2001 alone, the tournament has enabled the Westford Youth Basketball Association (WYBA) to give approximately $90,000 in 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 activities to pay WYBA registration fees for children who could not otherwise afford to play recreational basketball in the town.

The WYBA has eight tiers of support: Sustainer @ $350.00, Benefactor @ $250.00, Leadership Circle @ $150.00, Diamond @ $100.00, Platinum @ $75.00, Gold @ $50.00, Silver @ $30.00 and Supporter @ $15.00. All sponsors will be prominently listed in our program and game day posters if your donation is received by Wednesday, February 13.

Westford Youth Basketball Association is a 501 (c) 3 organization and contributions to are tax deductible. Donations can be made at www.westfordhoops.com.

Since the All Star tournament began, over 4,000 All Stars have participated in the event. For more information about the 2013 tournament, please contact Ken Teal at tealka@verizon.net or 978-807-7822.