Looking Back at 3v3 From Downtown

Sometimes the best indication that an event is going to work happens before it officially begins.

Early Saturday morning, as crews were still assembling the courts and Fall Fest was beginning to take shape around them, the first young players started appearing around the corner. They stopped when they saw the courts.

The nets weren't even completely set yet, but the excitement on their faces said everything.
It was the beginning of what would become a memorable first 3v3 From Downtown—a day of basketball, music, competition and community in the heart of Downtown Woodstock.
The morning began quietly. With setup underway around 8:30 a.m., classical strings from Tchaikovsky played through the sound system before giving way to Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder and a little Motown as downtown began to wake up. Courts were adjusted, tents were moved and all those little changes that inevitably happen when a plan on paper meets the real world were worked out.

Then the players arrived.

As families gathered around the registration table, Why Not Us President Todd Materick welcomed everyone and made one of the day's first big announcements: Why Not Us would cover the registration fees for all youth players in both the Elementary and High School divisions.

The kids were playing for free.

 

And with that, it was time for basketball. The Elementary Division opened the tournament, followed by High School and Adult competition as the day progressed.

Not everything went according to plan. Two registered teams didn't make it to the tournament. But instead of leaving holes in the day, something better happened: there was enough interest among people who had come downtown that two teams were assembled from players eager for an opportunity to get on the court.

That moment captured much of what the tournament was intended to be about.
Parents volunteered to keep score. Spectators gathered along the courts. People simply passing through Fall Fest stopped to see what was happening. BIA Board members and local councillors came by to support the event, and Woodstock Police Service officers stopped to take in some of the action.

The tournament also attracted players beyond Woodstock, including participants from Kitchener, Stratford and London. A special thank you goes to the Woodstock men's and women's basketball leagues for supporting the tournament and helping bring teams to the courts.

For a first-year tournament, seeing the basketball community come together that way was particularly meaningful.

The Danger-Bar Three-Point Contest
Between games, attention shifted to Court 1 for the Danger-Bar Three-Point Contest.
Players stepped up to test their range, with Rayn Chang taking the Elementary title and Kymani Mohammed winning the High School competition.

It provided a different kind of energy in the middle of the tournament and gave the crowd another reason to gather around the court before divisional play resumed.

 

Of course, eventually it had to come down to championships. In the Elementary Division, Brown Munde: Keltej Rai, Himmat Kahlon and Kiaan Lubhaya, put together an impressive day from beginning to end. Their basketball stood out, but so did their sportsmanship. They competed hard while consistently showing respect for their opponents, encouraging one another and playing with smiles on their faces.

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Defeating The Newbies, they became the first Elementary champions of 3v3 From Downtown.

The High School championship between The Crodies and Team Durant couldn't have been much closer. With the game hanging in the balance, a last-second three-point attempt that would have sent it to overtime came up just short, giving Team Durant the championship.

 

Then came the Adult final.

Quadruple Threat, featuring Josh Hounsell, Lucas V and Brandon R, battled Triple P in another game that went down to the wire. Strong rebounding and post play, complemented by timely long-range shooting, eventually pushed Quadruple Threat over the top.
Just as meaningful as the basketball were the conversations afterward. Players talked about how much they enjoyed the tournament, how excited they were to see something like it happening in Woodstock and, most importantly, when they could do it again.
 

More than Basketball
The champions walked away with custom jerseys and earned their place on a trophy created specifically for 3v3 From Downtown.

But the lasting image of the day may be something much broader. It was young players waiting impatiently, but respectfully, for the nets to go up. Parents volunteering because someone needed a scorekeeper. Players who didn't have a team finding one. People walking downtown and unexpectedly stopping to watch basketball. Friends, families and strangers gathered around two courts in the middle of the city.

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And behind it all was the Why Not Us team, back together doing what it has always tried to do: use arts and athletics to create positive cycles of improvement in the community.
There were great games. There were champions. There were jerseys and a trophy.
But perhaps the biggest victory was simply seeing the courts full, the sidewalks crowded and Downtown Woodstock alive.

For one fall Saturday, downtown became the court.

 

And this feels like only the beginning.