REMINDER: Normal registration deadline is March 8

This is just a quick reminder that the normal registration deadline for the spring BAM Jam, presented by Treasure Valley Ford Stores, is this Sunday, March 8. 

Time is running out to register

Late registration ends this Friday

Here is a quick reminder that the last day of late registration for Fast Eddy's BAM Jam is this Friday, August 1, 2014. We will take registrations through the night. After that teams will have to be placed on a wait list. Click here to register.

Why don't we take registrations up until the tournament starts? Even though we've really got this bracketing thing down to a science (click here to read how we do it) the process takes a long time. It is kind of like doing a 300 piece jigsaw puzzle, except you aren't only trying to fit teams in to a space, you have to fit them in to time slots as well.

To register, go to www.bamjamboise.com/play and sign your team up from there. To see a few hints and tips on how to register efficiently, click here to read our tip sheet. Other than step 1 (which was intended for the normal registration timeframe) these pretty much all apply.

How are teams bracketed?

*This blog entry was originally posted in February of 2011. It has been updated

Teams are placed in brackets based
on the information they provide

A common question we get is "how are the teams bracketed?" Often, players are concerned that they will be placed in a bracket with players far better, much older/younger or less skilled then they are. Our goal is to create brackets that are balanced and fair to everyone in the bracket, based on the information that we are provided.

For youth and high school teams, the first step is to determine which grade they are as a team. Teams are considered to be in the grade of the player that is in the oldest grade. So if there is a player in the 7th grade and 2 in the 6th grade then that team is considered a 7th grade team. Ideally there are enough teams in the same grade to create bracket of the same grade teams. However, from time to time we have to combine two grades in to the same bracket, such as a 7th/8th grade bracket. Keep in mind that we will never combine teams that are more than one grade apart (ie a 9th grade team would not be in a 12th grade bracket). If there are enough teams in the same grade to have two brackets, teams are separated based on the experience factor listed by the players.

For adult brackets, the first separation occurs based on the division that teams elect to play for (recreational, competitive, elite). If there are enough teams to create multiple brackets in, say, the adult recreational division, we use age as the separating factor.

Keep in mind that it is absolutely impossible to create perfect brackets. We do the best that we can. All the brackets are based on the information that we are provided. And of course there is always the "get hot" factor, where a player that is normally average is "feeling it" during the tournament and performs better than expected (it goes the other way too). All in all, just remember that this is a community event, that the people working it are volunteers, the teams are all playing for t-shirts and come Monday we all have to go back to work!

Late registration will remain open until this Friday night so if you want to play, be sure to get your team registered by then. If the bracket you enter on the website lets you register, it means there should be room.

Register today by clicking here.

Youth basketball teams to take over BAM Jam

Divisions available for youth
basketball teams

Each summer, Fast Eddy's BAM Jam hosts hundreds of youth basketball 3 on 3 teams in the 3rd-8th grades for boys and girls. Teams continue to come back each year to compete against old and new competitors and try to win the coveted Champions T-shirts.

Teams are divided into brackets based on the team member's highest grade level. The youth basketball teams will only compete against other teams that are the same grade or within one grade level of each other. For example, a 5th grade team won't compete against a 7th grade team.

Last summer we featured 9 youth basketball brackets, providing competitive play in a fun environment. Click here to see last summer's brackets.

Boys and girls youth basketball teams
compete in BAM Jam

The high school divisions (9th-12th grades) have also been very popular. Last year, teams from all over the northwest, including Alaska, competed in five different brackets with nearly 60 teams.

But you need to register ASAP. The late registration period closes this week and after that teams will not be able to register. Register your team by clicking here.

Late registration is still available

If you still want to play in the Fast Eddy's BAM Jam on August 9-10, you may still be able to get in. The guaranteed deadline has passed and now we are in the late registration period but some brackets still have room for teams.

Register your team today!

If you go to register and the bracket you want to play in is still listed, you will probably still be able to get in. But some brackets are filling up.

*NOTE: if for some reason you are able to register but there is not room available, you will be notified ASAP and your money will be fully refunded.

Your best bet to get in? Register today. There will be 300 teams from around the northwest competing on the streets of downtown Boise. Don't miss out on the good times and great action!

Team Registration Check List And Hints For Success

Register your BAM Jam 3 on 3
basketball team today!

Here is a checklist of items that may help to get your team registered before the deadline:

1. Mark your calendar for July 19 with "BAM Jam registration deadline". If its a digital calendar you can even set a reminder to go off a day or two before just to be safe.
2. Visit www.bamjamboise.com and click PLAY
3. Adult teams, decide what level of play you want: recreational, competitive or elite
4. Talk to your teammates and get the following information from them: address, birthdate, cell phone number, email, height, playing experience and shirt size (adult sizes). Youth and high school teams will also need the grade they are going in to next fall.
5. Credit card - yes, you have to pay to play!
6. Submit the registration and look for your registration email. It will be sent to the Team Captain (Player 1) so that email needs to be accurate.
7. If you end up on the "Thank You" page your registration should be good to go. But definitely make sure you receive the email.

If you do not receive an email, contact support@idahoselect.org with your team name, your name and when you signed up. We'll figure out what happened. 

When registering, here are a couple of tips to make the process smoother.

• Have all your team information ready before you begin. 

• Register from a desktop computer if possible. You can register from a smart phone or tablet, but we've found that if your signal bounces from one cell tower or WiFi hot spot to another it can interfere. 

• If you are registering from work, make sure that your internet is not behind a firewall. Usually, for the company's safety, firewalls prevent certain transactions. 

• Make sure that your browser is up to date. If you enter the players in and click NEXT and it scrolls to the top of the browser with no error, this could mean that your browser or some other component is out of date. To going to www.whatismybrowser.com for a quick check (we are not endorsing this website or the owner but it has helped others). It will do a quick check and let you know if something is out of date.

• Do not wait until the last minute to register. Sometimes you may run in to unforeseen issues that prevent your registration from going through. Most of the time everything goes fine but you never know! Remember: there is a $25 late fee if your registration is done after July 19.

• If you run in to issues, send an email to support@idahoselect.org. We are happy to help in any way that we can.

The 7th Annual Fast Eddy's BAM Jam continues to grow and already has registrations from teams in Idaho, Washington, Oregon, Nevada and Utah. Make sure you get in on all the action!

Registration deadline is July 19

For players and teams that want to play in the 2014 Fast Eddy's Summer BAM Jam 3 on 3 basketball tournament, please note that the guaranteed registration deadline is July 19. Teams that register on or before this registration deadline will be placed in a bracket.

The deadline for this summer's Fast Eddy's BAM Jam is July 19

Teams that do not register by the registration deadline may still get in to the tournament, but there is a $25 late fee and teams will only be placed in to brackets that still have room. We highly recommend that you do not take any chances. Register on or before the guaranteed registration deadline of July 19 and lock in your spot to the biggest 3 on 3 basketball street ball party in the northwest.

The Fast Eddy's BAM Jam 3 on 3 basketball tournament is August 9-10 and will be held on the streets of downtown Boise, Idaho. To see a lay out of the tournament map as it stands today, click here.

Late check in

For those that weren't able to attend today's check in, there is a late check in on Friday from 11am-1pm. It is in BoDo in the store just south of Gandolfo's. Please be patient as we are not as fully staffed as we were for the regular check in.

I missed the registration deadline, now what?

If you wanted to get a team into this year's BAM Jam but missed the normal registration deadline, you may be in luck.  Some of our smaller brackets may have room for another team or two. Our bracketing team starts this weekend building the tournament brackets. In the meantime, here's what you can do to get in.

First, get signed up! The bracket team will finish up by Tuesday so you have to be in by then. Go to www.bamjamboise.com, click on play and complete the team registration process. Please note, with late registration comes the standard late registration fee of $25.

Second, look for your verification email immediately after you have signed up. If you don't get it within 10 minutes check your junk or spam folder. If you check your spam and junk folders and don't see it in there, send an email to service@idahoselect.org with your team name and captain and we will check on it for you.

Third, be patient. We will do our best to get you into your bracket of choice if there is room. But this could take a couple days so give us a chance to get it in.

Fourth, check your email again. If we are able to get you in to the tournament you will get an email with your TEAM NUMBER and check in information. If we couldn't get you in we will send you an email letting you know and that we are refunding your entry fee.