Foundation Tournament Draws 70 To 75 CYO Basketball Teams

Now in its sixth year, this weekend’s Mary Nagle Charitable Foundation CYO Basketball Tournament will attract between 70 and 75 CYO teams from throughout Rockland County and neighboring Orange County and New Jersey.  The tournament was started in Mary Nagle’s memory the year after the New City resident’s brutal murder in her home in 2005.  She is survived by two children and her husband.

The majority of the funds raised at the tournament goes to local families afflicted with some type of trauma and who need financial assistance and to aid non-profit organizations. Two scholarships are awarded to parishioners of St. Augustine’s School who plan to attend a Catholic high school.

“All the money that we raise goes to the Mary Nagle Charitable Foundation,” said Frank Fallon, who was Nagle’s brother-in-law.  “The primary recipients are people from the community that are families in need.  We distribute thousands of dollars a year.”  

Brian Whitmore, coordinator of St. Augustine’s CYO in New City, handles the recruitment, registration and scheduling of the teams.  About 99 percent of the teams are CYO teams, which are affiliated with parishes, but the tournament is not limited to CYO teams.

Between 700 and 800 players will play games on Friday, Saturday and Sunday at Clarkstown North High School in New City, MacArthur Barr Middle School in Nanuet and Felix Festa Middle School in West Nyack.  Third through eighth grade boys and girls from St Augustine’s Church in New City, St. Anthony’s in Nanuet, St. Aedan’s Church in Pearl River, Sacred Heart in Suffern and many other local parish CYO groups will be competing.  Each team plays against three teams, sometime four in their division.

Fallon said some aspects of the tournament are different for the teams.

“What’s great for the kids is generally they don’t get a chance to play on full size courts,” he said.

Between playing on full size courts and having the opportunity to score three point shots, the tournament is designed to make it fun for the teams.  Scores are kept but there are no trophies and there is no winner of the tournament. Each player receives a T-shirt.

“We intentionally put it at the end of the year; for most teams it’s the end of the season,” said Fallon, adding that teams give players who have not gotten much playing time the chance to get on the basketball court.

“It is a friendlier atmosphere,” said Whitmore.  “It’s a good way to end the year for a really good cause.”

Whitmore said the tournament raises money through entry fees, which costs teams $250, plus paid admission for spectators, food and raffle ticket sales. Fallon said the 75 to 100 volunteers, many of whom return year after year, do everything from keeping score, watching the clock and writing in the book to manning snack tables, collecting admission and selling 50/50 tickets.  Fallon said as the tournament has grown, the volunteer base has expanded from family and friends to the entire community. 

Fallon, a New City resident, said local residents get involved in every aspect of the tournament, playing in it and working in it, all to help others.

“The community supported it so strongly,” he said.  “It is really designed to be all about the community.”

The tournament’s first day begins Friday at 6 p.m. and ends at 10 p.m. Games start every hour in the school gyms which each have several courts. The tournament continues on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. It winds up on Sunday, March 4 with a full day of games beginning at 9 a.m. and ending at 8 p.m.

Donations can be sent to:

The Mary Nagle Charitable Trust
11 Corners Road
Congers, NY 10920