Elmont Online

Over 40 volunteers and committee members jammed an Elmont Public Library meeting room for the first organizational meeting of the 7th annual Summer 3-on-3 Basketball tournament held at Dutch Broadway School. The tournament, in its seventh year, is a huge Summer attraction to the Elmont, Floral Park, Franklin Square, North Valley Stream, Stewart Manor and West Hempstead communities. The tournament is a community created initiative run by volunteers and dedicated young people.

The nine baseball courts at Dutch Broadway School were repaved and revamped through grant funding from Assemblyman Tom Alfano. To celebrate the initiative, the Summer tournament was created for young people throughout the greater community.

Tournament Chairman Scott Cushing convened the first of several community outreach sessions with volunteers in organizing what has become the largest outdoor Summer sporting event in western Nassau County. The tournament is being held on July 9^th and is free for all teams and includes lunch, drinks, prizes and assorted events.

The committee came together to discuss the layout of the grounds, division times and events for the greater community’s young people. Last year, over 2,300 children participated in the day. It was announced that the tournament is being played in memory of David C. Dangerfield. Mr. Dangerfield was a an active community member in youth athletic leagues, PTA, decorated NYC Firefighter and appointed by Governor George Pataki as his bio-terrorism and health preparedness coordinator in New York State.

The committee announced a great improvement to the operation of the tournament this year in that specific times are being assigned to the different divisions so that young people can enjoy the other attractions and events at the tournament during the day.  “We wanted to help alleviate the wait times for all of our tournament teams,” said Committee Chairman Scott Cushing adding, “now each division has a set time to start and a set time to finish. No more waits and no more down time- just more fun.”

The new division times announced by the committee are : 5^th and 6^th grades at 9:30am, 7^th and 8^th at 1:30, 9^th and 10^th grades at 3:30pm, 11^th and 12^th grades at 5pm and college divisions at 6:30pm.

Head referee of the tournament Marvin Lee noted that the 3-on-3 committee is also looking for extra referees to assist in the games this year. “If you want to get involved in the biggest basketball event in the area then this is the place,” said Lee adding, “all you need to do is email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it to get involved.”

Committee member Sandra Smith announced that there is an expanded free lunch program at the tournament with staggered eating times for all tournament participants. “The menu is more diverse this year with extra tents and drinks for everyone.”

A new addition to the tournament this year is a basketball clinic being sponsored and administered by community members. The clinic will concentrate on shooting and practice drills to hone basketball skills. Myrone Powell and Shaun Barosy are volunteering their time with semi-professional players to the effort.

Committee members Ahkeel Rodney and Cesar Martinez noted that in the next few weeks the 3-on-3 committee will be making announcements on events attractions at the tournament. “Last year, you could play basketball and enjoy a lot of other events at the tournament. This year, wait and see what’s going to happen. It’s exciting and you won’t want to miss it,” said Cesar Martinez.

Rodney added, “You can keep up to date with tournament information by becoming a member of the tournament Facebook group site. Simply become a member of “2010 3-on-3 Tournament” on Facebook. On the site you can see a video of last year’s action, photos and information.”.

Registration for the tournament has begun and will continue to the day of the tournament on July 9^th. To get a registration form, simply email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

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