'Chamber Madness' business bracket gets added to this year's Gus Macker Tournament

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FLINT, Michigan — This month, the Flint & Genesee Chamber will host Chamber Madness, the first countywide business bracket for the 3-on-3 competition of the Gus Macker Basketball Tournament in Flint.

“The idea came out of a conversation we had with Sylvester Broome Empowerment Village (SBEV), which is a member and important partner of the Flint & Genesee Chamber. We thought it was a great idea to support the tournament while also offering a fun opportunity for local businesses to get involved,” said Andrew Younger, executive director of the Flint & Genesee Chamber, a division of Flint & Genesee Group.

Through the basketball tournament’s new Chamber Madness bracket, The Flint & Genesee Chamber welcomes company employees, friends, and family to sign up a team or multiple teams for the July 30-31 event, happening on the Flat Lot in downtown Flint.

By signing up, businesses have the chance to represent their company while playing against other Chamber members and non-member company teams.

The Flint & Genesee Chamber, a Flint business membership organization, believes the new Chamber Madness bracket will really drive home that sense of community that exists among the businesses in the Flint area. The goal is to encourage competition in both work and play.

“This is a great way to build loyalty and camaraderie with your employees. We’ve heard from many businesses that participating in these kinds of activities outside of work helps strengthen workplace relationships,” said Younger.

Once teams have signed up, tournament organizers will then match up teams based on skill level and gender, to maintain both competition and fun. The Flint & Genesee Chamber is currently looking for a minimum of eight to 16 teams.

The fee for a court partnership is $250 which includes a team registration and the company’s logo on the court perimeter.

In the case that more teams want to sign up, the tournament will make room to accommodate, making it a truly countywide event. All businesses are welcome to participate.

According to Younger, this opportunity “shines a positive light on Flint for being a host of this legendary tournament; it also benefits the great work happening at SBEV. We hope our bracket and the overall tournament help support ongoing financial stability and growth for their organization.”

Because of its world-famous status, the Gus Macker tournament is expected to bring in people from all over the state to play basketball in downtown Flint. With that in mind, the Chamber encourages businesses to take advantage of the two to three courts that will be reserved for local businesses to play in.

For more information on Chamber Madness, visit: sbev.org/chambermadness.