Hanscom hosts basketball tournament, troop care drive

  • Published
  • By Mark Wyatt
  • 66th Air Base Group Public Affairs
HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Mass. --  The Youth Center played host last weekend to more than 500 youth basketball players and their families during the President's Day Basketball Tournament here.

Twelve seventh and eighth grade boy's travel teams from communities throughout New Hampshire and Massachusetts participated in the third annual tournament. In addition, this year donated items for deployed personnel were collected from the teams.

"The generosity from each team in this tournament was overwhelming," said Ann-Marie Ely, the youth sports and fitness director, who also served as tournament director. "Tournament visitors expressed how appreciative they are of the sacrifices men and women in uniform make and contributed tremendously."

According to the Company Grade Officers Council, troop care drives are vital to its success.

"Community events such as this are essential to the CGOC Troop Care Drive since we operate purely on donations," said 1st Lt. Jonathon L. Cozad, a member of the CGOC. "It's great to see the local community's generosity and support of our deployed troops."

The tournament culminated with championship games Sunday afternoon between Chelmsford and Reading travel teams in the seventh grade division and the Goffstown Rebels and Reading travel team in the eighth grade division.

Col. Stacy L. Yike, 66th Air Base Group commander, was on hand to present championship coins and T-shirts to the Reading travel clubs from the seventh and eighth grade for winning their respective divisions.

The people responsible for organizing the tournament were pleased with its success and hope to continue to host other tournaments for years to come.