The deadline for signing up for the first-ever March Madness in the Boros is fast approaching. Teams need to register by February 20. The tournament will be held on March 5 at Algonquin, and it promises to be a fun-filled event for all. Best of all, proceeds benefit Southborough Youth and Family Services, which provides a range of programs and services to help Southborough families in need.
Here are all the details.
There will be tournaments for kids in various age ranges, as well as a teacher vs. parent tournament. Here’s the schedule:
11:00 am -1:00 pm: Grades 5 and 6 (one division)
1:00 pm – 3:00 pm: Teachers vs. Parents
3:00 pm – 5:00 pm: Grades 7 and 8 (one division)
5:00 pm – 7:00 pm: High schoolTeams may consist of three to five players. There are boys, girls, and co-ed divisions in each age group. Aside from basketball, the event will feature music, prizes, and concessions, so it will be fun for the whole family.
Registration is $20 per player with prizes awarded to the winning teams. The registration deadline is February 20. Players who sign up by January 20 will get a free t-shirt.
Register online at www.northeastelitebasketball.com or mail in a registration form. You need to sign up as a team.
(Photo posted to Flickr by Håkan Dahlström)
Has this tournament licensed rights to use the name “March Madness?” It would be sad to see the organizers of this tournament end up in court (that’s court of law, not basketball court). But that could be exactly where they wind up. “March Madness” is a registered trademark and is the exclusive property of the March Madness Athletic Association.
Who is that? MMAA is a holding company formed in 2000 by the National Collegiate Basketball Association (“NCAA”) and the Illinois High School Association (“IHSA”) to pool their respective trademark rights in “March Madness” and thereby facilitate licensing those rights in exchange for royalties from licensees. In return for pooling their respective trademark rights, the NCAA and IHSA each received an exclusive, perpetual license from MMAA to use the term “March Madness” to refer to and market their respective annual March basketball tournaments.
In other words, unless this tournament has expicity licensed “March Madness,” the name “March Madness in the Boros” constitutes trademark infringement likely to result in a cease-and-desist order, or perhaps result in litigation brought by MMAA, leading to substantial legal fees and severe financial penalties for the tournament, its orgainzers, and its beneficiaries.