Planning is heating up for the 6th-annual Gus Macker basketball tournament in Albert Lea, and organizers hope this year’s event will be the biggest yet.

Tuesday, April 17, 2001

Planning is heating up for the 6th-annual Gus Macker basketball tournament in Albert Lea, and organizers hope this year’s event will be the biggest yet.

Local sports booster groups met Monday at Northbridge Mall to organize for the event, which will be held in the mall parking lot June 30-July 1. The work of putting on the tournament will be portioned out among nine booster clubs, said organizer Pam Folkens of Northbridge Mall.

&uot;We’re trying to get everybody on board,&uot; Folkens said.

Organizers mailed registration forms to 4,300 people last week, Folkens said. Registrations will be taken through early June.

Hundreds of players from around the region come to Albert Lea for the tournament every year, Folkens said. Other nearby tournaments include St. Paul and Eau Claire, Wis.

Last year’s Albert Lea Gus Macker tournament was the same weekend as the Eau Claire event, which Folkens said hurt participation in Albert Lea because Twin Cities residents were more likely to take part in the Eau Claire event. That’s not the case this year.

Organizers are looking for sponsors and volunteers to help with this year’s event. Boosters will be selling $5 Papa Murphy’s pizza coupon books, which contain $30 in savings, to raise money. The books are also available at the mall.

Volunteers who want to help raise money, referee games or help out any other way can contact Folkens for more information.