Some shots of last year’s Magic for Maddie 3v3 tournament.
Photo credit: Magic for Maddie
SOUTHAMPTON — Community members of all ages will once again participate in a slam dunk effort to raise money in support of pediatric cancer at the fourth annual Magic for Maddie 3v3 basketball tournament, which returns to Norris Elementary School on March 28 and 29.
Magic for Maddie is a nonprofit organization conceived during the summer of 2022 to raise funds for diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma research and to help fund Maddie Schmidt’s clinical DIPG trial at Children’s Hospital in Philadelphia. Ninety percent of children diagnosed with DIPG die within two years of diagnosis; the median survival time is 11 months, and the overall survival rate is less than 1%.
“Although cancer is what took Maddie’s life, it is not her legacy,” said Nora Schmidt, Maddie’s mother. “In eight short years, Maddie loved deeply, shined brightly and inspired a community. If people leave our events with a little bit of Maddie’s magic, then we’re doing exactly what she would want.”
The 3v3 basketball fundraiser honors the enduring “sparkle” of forever 8-year-old Maddie Schmidt, of Southampton, and although she lost her heroic 10-month battle against DIPG, her legacy has continued to shine and inspire her community, according to organizers.
“When Maddie passed, what really became important for us was obviously to continue her legacy, but also to try and create a means to support the community around her. Her brothers, Patrick and Will, being at the forefront of that focus,” explained tournament chair Joe Wescott. “These types of situations are obviously tragic and very unfortunate, but to see the community continue to turn out, I mean, we’re four years in. The harsh reality of a lot of these types of functions is, once somebody passes or you have a tragedy, you might get a year or two out of it before the reality of life sets in. Other things happen, other people pass, other tragedies happen. This hasn’t lost traction, and that’s just incredible.”
Community members of all ages, first graders to adults, will spend the upcoming March weekend at Norris School in competitive games of hoops, all to raise funds for pediatric cancer research and local family support. The tournament is presented by the Southampton Youth Athletic Association, Hyundai Hope on Wheels, Aurora Jewelers and the McColgan Family.
“Magic for Maddie stands very strongly on turning pain into purpose, and that’s something the family and the mission have really held true to. At the foundation of this, the goal was to continue Maddie’s legacy and basketball, and sports were very important to Maddie, Will and Patrick,” added Wescott.
High school, middle school teams and the three adult brackets — women, men under 40 and men over 40 — are set to tip off at 11 a.m. on March 28. On Sunday, elementary teams will tip off at 9 a.m.
All games will be played at Norris School in Southampton, and the tournament will feature double-elimination brackets, prizes for winners and best “Spirit of Maddie” team awards.
Proceeds from the first two years of the tournament went to fund the memorial scholarship in Maddie’s name for senior athletes at Hampshire Regional High School. This year, funds raised will continue to add to the fund, but they will also support Magic for Maddie, which helps fuel research.
A special online auction on magicformaddie.com will also support the Magic for Maddie 3v3 tournament starting on March 20 and ending on March 29 at 2 p.m. Auction items include 2026 Red Sox Green Monster tickets, Boston Celtics tickets, concert tickets to Chris Stapleton, a party at Maddie’s Magical Playground, and Rhode Island and New Hampshire vacation getaways.
Concessions will be available throughout the entire tournament, including food from La Veracruzana, Log Rolling and Riff’s. In addition, Nini’s, Starbucks, Dam Café, Elm Butcher Block, Tandem Bagel and Coca-Cola will donate food and drink for the tournament. Funds raised from this portion of the event will go directly toward local family support.
“This event has become much more of ‘mission over money,’ if you will. We’ve been very fortunate with the turnout in the first three years, and again, we funded this scholarship for a comfortable level of time where it is right now. Our actions and efforts right now are more focused on making sure that Maddie’s memory rings strong, and we continue to support the mission, and continue to help the local community and individuals who are going through some of these challenges,” said Wescott. “It’s not so much about how much money we can make. Obviously, that’s an important component to the mission, but really, it’s more just trying to make sure everybody remembers Maddie and to continue to support local families.”
Over three years, the tournament has raised over $70,000.
“It’s been incredible, and the support doesn’t just come from Southampton, Easthampton, Westhampton; it comes from surrounding towns — Holyoke, Westfield, Belchertown, Wilbraham, which again kind of just shows how impressive it is that Magic for Maddie and Maddie’s impact has reached so far,” added Wescott. “What’s important to emphasize is, events like this really take a village. I’m very fortunate to be the chair, but I’m still a very small component to what makes this a successful event. There are a lot of folks who really play a part in this, so it really shows you it takes a village to make something like this successful.”
Magic for Maddie, Inc. is an official 501c3 charity. In 2025, the foundation doubled down on its mission to fuel research for DIPG, helping families in the fight against pediatric cancer, funding more than $250,000. Since 2022, Magic for Maddie has raised $1.3 million.
“Magic for Maddie, in its entirety, supports much larger efforts. At the governmental level, in terms of getting involved. Really lobbying for attention and those funding sources, and bills passing, and really aggressive initiatives that really could affect pediatric cancer on a much larger scale. This particular event is more so supporting the family, and supporting other local families, but keeping Maddie’s memory alive and doing it in a way that she really enjoyed, which is sports,” said Wescott.
To register a team for the tournament, visit runsignup.com/Race/MA/Southampton/MagicforMaddie3v3. Registration closes Friday, Feb. 20. For more information on Magic for Maddie’s work and Maddie’s legacy, visit magicformaddie.com.
