Basketbrawlers 3V3 Tournament to Benefit Boys and Girls Club of Westwood
Gary Newman
The Ashland Beacon
On Saturday, August 26, the Boyd County Middle School will play host to the Basketbrawlers 3v3 Tournament. While the winning team in each bracket (sixth-eighth grades and ninth grade and up) will be acknowledged and crowned champions, the real beneficiary is the Boys and Girls Club of Westwood, a staple of Westwood that is open and free for everyone who comes and is completely run by volunteers. This tournament and the proceeds will go to advance the cause of the club and provide updates for all they serve.
The organizer of the tournament, Alexis Robinson, is a local hardwood legend who terrified opponents and electrified the crowds at Anderson Gymnasium leading Ashland to four state tournaments, two Area Player of the Year awards, and left while holding the all-time leader records in assists and steals before taking her fierce game to Colorado to terrify opponents in the PAC 12. She was honorable mention all-PAC 12 twice and finished with over 1,200 points. Since returning from college, she’s turned her competitive nature toward the boxing ring and is thriving.
Competition is nothing new for Alexis Robinson, who confided, “Me and competition are working on our relationship.” Her ties with the Boys and Girls Club include teaching and mentoring, and as the board searched for a way to raise funds, she had an idea about that, too. “I was thinking about something I could do with basketball because everyone around here really loves basketball,” and that’s how the Basketbrawler Tournament was born. “Response has been really good. I’ve got a lot of engagement,” Robinson shared. She will consider the event successful, “if we just have an exciting positive energized night no matter how many teams and how many people come.”
Since the 1950s, the Boys and Girls Club has offered a variety of services and activities to everyone in the community, and in recent years the reclamation of the run-down aged facility has been the subject of many community members stepping up and helping. This fundraiser is centered around the update of the game room.
“We have a lot of old games. We want to get some new games, food in the cabinets and snacks for the kids. We’ve got new computers that we need to hookup, and there’ll be a place to come in and work on homework, they’ll eat their snacks, and have a place to go after school,” offered co-organizer Mindy Hanshaw, continuing, “It’s open to everybody; everything is free. Our goal is to get the game room and get the basketball court done.”
Two of the recipients of the boxing services offered by Boys and Girls Club of Westwood, Cayson Clark and Mason Maynard shared how important the programming at the club is for them as they’ve learned to box and compete. “There’s a lot of great people and they’re really nice, and they train me a lot,” declared Clark. The instruction Clark and Maynard receive is an example of where fundraising money goes to pour into community members.
Hanshaw explained, “Alexis has been really excellent with our female boxers; she’s an excellent boxer. The board came together and asked, ‘What can we do besides boxing? What can we offer?’ Alexis stepped up, and said I’d like to put on a 3 on 3 tournament. She took charge of it, and she’s got it out there working it.”
This Saturday, check out the fruits of their labor, and help the Boys and Girls Club of Westwood continue to reach a whole new generation with some long overdue upgrades. Doors at BCMS open at noon and tickets are $2 at the door, Concessions will be available as well.