Rockets Blacktop Battle
From Hoopedia
The Rockets Blacktop Battle is an annual 3-on-3 basketball tournament that began in Houston, Texas, in 2005. The two-day basketball festival is held in the streets around Toyota Center - the home arena of the Houston Rockets - and regularly attracts over 1,000 basketball players. The tournament typically includes the 3-on-3 games themselves, a 3-point and Slam Dunk Contest, Kids' Clinic, and appearances by the Houston Rockets Power Dancers and players from the Houston Rockets. The tournament is open to players of all ages and skill levels.
A unique feature of the Rockets Blacktop Battle is that each team receives four free tickets to a Rockets home game, often held on the same weekend of the tournament. The face value of the tickets themselves is worth as much as the tournament entry fee. Teams also receive free tournament T-shirts, Gatorade, water bottles, and other sponsor giveaways.
Contents |
History
The Rockets Blacktop Battle began in 2005 as the "Rockets BIG Blacktop Battle" to play off the team's marketing slogan of the time, "Be Big." The tournament was an effort to attract recreational basketball players to downtown Houston, specifically, the area surrounding Toyota Center, where a basketball park, Root Memorial Square, was to be built. The planners of the tournament took the term streetball to a new level, shutting down several streets in downtown Houston and placing the courts directly on the street. The tournament area includes the streets of Polk, La Branch, Clay, and Bell street.
The 2005 tournament was a huge success, attracting over 250 teams from around the country, and featuring appearances by Houston Rockets players David Wesley, Jon Barry, and others. By 2006, the $1.8 million Root Memorial Square was completed and hosted the tournament's dunk and 3-point competitions. Rockets players Dikembe Mutombo, Chuck Hayes, Stromile Swift, Rafer Alston, and Luther Head served as judges for the Slam Dunk contest in 2006. Also in 2006, Rafer Alston became the official spokesperson for the tournament. Having perfected his game on the streets of Queens, New York, and later with the And1 Mixtape Tour, Alston was a perfect host for the tournament.
Main Tournament
Teams competing in the Rockets Blacktop Battle presented by Amerigroup Community Care are seperated into divisions based on age, height, and experience level. The top division, known as the "Elite" division, often features former collegiate and semi-professional players.
Each team plays three to four games on Saturday in a round-robin format. After the round-robin games, the top teams from each pool move on to a single-elimination playoff bracket within their division. The playoff round can last up to five additional games, all of which are played on Sunday. The top team in each division (there are typically more than twenty unique divisions) are then awarded Champions medals or trophies and T-shirts.
The Main Tournament is not just a streetball tournament, however. The highlight of the weekend is the Slam Dunk Contest, in which the best dunkers from around the city compete for bragging rights. In the past, competitors have completed 360s, dunks over the Rockets Power Dancers, free-throw line dunks, and wind mills. Videos of the Blacktop Battle Slam Dunk contest are often posted on YouTube and other video sharing sites. In addition to the Slam Dunk contest, fans can participate in a three-point contest, skills clinic, performances by the Rockets Power Dancers, and autograph sessions. Food and drinks are also available for purchase. Gatorade is offered for free to all participants.
Qualifying Tournaments
Prior to the Blacktop Battle each season, the Rockets and title sponsor Amerigroup Community Care host two Blacktop Battle Qualifying Tournaments. While play in these tournaments is not required to participate in the Blacktop Battle itself (often referred to as the main tournament), the qualifiers offer teams an opportunity to win free entry into the main tournament. Many teams also enjoy the opportunity to practice with their teammates before the main tournament.
The Qualifying Tournaments were developed to enable teams that may not be able to afford the Blacktop Battle an opportunity to play in a 3-on-3 tournament. The qualifiers are typically held at urban parks and inner-city neighborhoods in order to reach such teams.
The two Qualifying Tournaments are held the weeks preceding the main tournament at seperate locations. The tournaments are typically capped at 50 teams per event and are held on one day as opposed to the two-day format of the main tournament. Teams at the qualifiers are broken down by age (youth in two- and three-year groups and adult) but not by skill level. The winning team at each tournament receives free entry into the main tournament. Because of the popularity of the Qualifying Tournaments in recent years, teams are restricted to only entering one of the two tournaments.
Summer Tour
Beginning in the summer of 2007, the Rockets Blacktop Battle expanded to include the "Blacktop Battle Summer Tour." The tour consists of three one-day tournaments with a structure similar to the Qualifying Tournaments. Each of the summer tour stops is a stand-alone tournament capped at 50 teams. Teams compete in divisions based on age. Winning teams in the each division receive Rockets autographed items. The three Summer Tour stops take place at neighborhood parks during the months of June, July, and August.
