LEWES, De. - An annual tradition will not be returning this year. "Slam Dunk to the Beach" has been postponed. But a new, smaller tournament is aiming to fill the gap, with hopes of keeping Christmas break basketball alive and boosting the local economy in the quiet season.
The first ever "Beach Bash Basketball Tournament" was thought up by Cape Henlopen High School Basketball Coach Steve Re.
"Right now we're just trying to fill the void for the next year or two until we find out more information about Slam Dunk to the Beach," Re said.
This new tournament will feature four teams over two days, on Dec. 27 and 28.
Carol Everhart with the Rehoboth-Dewey Beach Chamber of Commerce says "Beach Bash" has major potential.
"Anything happening outside of June, July and August is a big benefit to the local economy. Most of these events start very small and they grow and they grow and they grow," she said.
Re also hopes this tournament will help businesses that have long relied on the financial boost provided by "Slam Dunk."
"Even though it's not the same scale, it's a smaller scale, it's still going to provide the same impact on a smaller scale," he said.
Dewey Beach Commissioner Paul Bauer serves as an organizer for the "Beach Bash" event.
He told WBOC the future of "Slam Dunk" remains unknown. "The cost of bringing in teams from across the country became too high to continue Slam Dunk."
He continued "The total cost to fly teams in, put them up in a hotel, feed, transport and now [with] the proliferation of NIL (Name Image and License) into the High School space brought the decision to a breaking point."
