Watts Classic honors basketball, community and a Bellaire legend
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BELLAIRE - The fourth annual James D. Watts Sr. Classic will take place Aug. 4-9 at the Bellaire Outdoor Basketball Courts.
The annual event’s purpose is to provide a fun, safe, outdoor activity for residents of not only Bellaire but the entire Ohio Valley of all ages.
The classic will have a kids camp Aug. 4-6, which is free of charge. Then, Aug. 7-9, an adult basketball tournament will be held, with the winning team taking home $3,500. Admission to compete is $25 per team, and organizers are expecting at least 10 teams.
The classic was created by longtime friends Watts Music Management Owner and Operator James Watts Jr., Bellaire council member and owner of the Holistic Cloud Bill Schmidt Jr. and R.L. Strength & Conditioning CEO Rick Leigh.
Watts said the classic was created to honor his father, James D. Watts Sr., who died in 2021.
"It’s in honor of my dad and my dad was all about the kids and all about basketball," Watts said. "I just know that he would have loved the tournament and the fact that we can have these speakers come in and talk to these kids and be able to show these kids skills."
West Virginia University women’s basketball player Alexis Bordas and Lindsly varsity boys basketball coach Calvin Bubby Goodwin will be speaking to the kids during the kids camp.
"It’s going to be a real fun time and knowing how my dad was, I just think it's a great way to honor him," Watts said. "To be able to do the kids’ camp and also the tournament is big because he loved basketball and he put that love of basketball in me."
Leigh added that the classic was a great way to honor Watts Sr. because he was a mentor to countless kids in the Ohio Valley.
"His dad mentored a lot of people, not just in athletics, but also with mental health and all different problems in life," Leigh said. "And we’ve all come together like a megatron and put our little spices into it and it’s doing really well. I think this will probably be the best year ever so far."
He added that in addition to keeping Watts Sr.’s name alive, the classic also will showcase some of the best basketball players in the Ohio Valley.
This year’s classic will be the first in which former Bellaire Mayor Ed Marling will not be heavily involved.
Marling died in April.
"Mayor Marling helped greatly with this tournament. He was somebody who did the work on the inside with the village as well as myself, to try to make sure that we had everything situated for the tournament. He made sure that we had the basketball nets, scheduled the grass to be cut, working with the police to be able to barricade the alley off, and getting permission to use the bathroom from the softball fields," Schmidt said. "He did a lot when it came to the village side to be able to give us the opportunity to do something for our kids and the community. He’s deeply missed."
He added that during the tournament, an annual tradition will begin to have a moment of silence to honor Marling.
"He was such an instrumental part of doing this. Mayor Marling was somebody who really cared about Bellaire and really cared about the entire community," Schmidt said. "It definitely hurts to not have him here this year."
Leigh added that Marling was able to help open doors to improve the classic that only a mayor could while putting his love into helping make the classic the best it could be.
During last year’s classic, Marling persuaded the Parks Department to repaint the foul lines on the court for the tournament.
He previously said that he doesn’t make very much money but donates as much as he can in addition to providing moral support.
Co-organizers decided to make the kids camp free this year in hopes of providing fun to as many children as possible without their parents having to be burdened with a cost.
Leigh said the decision comes on the heels of Belmont County Job and Family Services announcing that it would not be able to afford the annual Back to School Clothes for Kids Program, which provides vouchers to stores in the Ohio Valley Mall for parents who are unable to afford school clothing for their children due to anticipated federal funding cuts, staffing shortages and increased administrative demands related to changes in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
"It’s been tough for all of the families recently with gas prices being high, the school clothing vouchers not being able to help the community, amongst other things," Schmidt said. "The country is kind of in a bad spot because everything’s more expensive right now. By making this free for the kids, we just feel that it’s the right thing to do because of all of the families that are struggling right now."