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Shakespearean Slam changing venue in Ashland By DON HUNT ASHLAND - The Shakespearean Slam 3-on-3 basketball tournament enters its 10th season later this month with a different venue. The popular outdoor tournament, which annually attracts more than 200 players from throughout California and the Pacific Northwest over the Memorial Day weekend, will move from Southern Oregon University to nearby Ashland Middle School, director Stan Talbott said. Entry forms for the May 26-27 tournament are available at the parks and recreation offices in Ashland, Medford and Grants Pass, as well as sporting goods stores at the Rogue Valley Mall, Cascade Athletic and G.I. Joe's. The entry fee is $92 per team, which includes T-shirts for each participant and a minimum of three games for each team. Teams may have as many as four players for the regular entry fee, and can add a fifth player for a slightly higher fee, Talbott said. Players may enter the tournament on the Internet at www.oregon3on3.com. The entry deadline is May 16 for registration through the mail or May 19 on the Internet. Talbott said late registrations won't be accepted. "We allowed 60 teams to sign up late last year and that caused some problems," he said. "We have a goal of getting all the brackets on-line by May 24." Anyone aged 8-and-above is eligible to play. Various divisions will be available according to ability, age and height. A separate tournament, called Jam Madness, will be conducted in conjunction with the main event. Baskets will be lowered to eight feet for players 6-foot-2 and under and to nine feet for players taller than 6-2 in the Jam Madness event. Also on tap will be dunking and 3-point shooting contests, as well as other shooting games. Talbott got the idea for an outdoor 3-on-3 tournament in 1986 after reading about the hugely popular Gus Macker Tournament in Lowell, Mich. That event lures about 3,000 teams to a town that numbers only 6,000 people, Talbott said. Talbott put on his first tournament as part of the Lebanon Strawberry Festival in 1989 and kicked off the first Shakespearean Slam in 1992. The inaugural Slam tourney, played on a church parking lot in Ashland, drew 33 teams and 100 participants, Talbott said. Reach reporter Don Hunt at 776-4469, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.