Pittsfield's 'War on the Floor' Moves to 'The Club'

PITTSFIELD, Mass. -- The Pittsfield Public Schools Athletic Department is pleased to present the annual Pittsfield vs. Taconic City Series Basketball Championship, scheduled to tip-off the afternoon of Friday, Feb. 8, at the Boys and Girls Club of the Berkshires.

 

The 2019 version of the cross-town rivalry marks the first time in history that the two schools will meet in regular season games at the Melville Street institution that has served as a second home to many Pittsfield youngsters for decades. 

 

Dubbed by students in recent years as “The War On The Floor,” the tradition of featuring each of the junior varsity and varsity boys and girls teams in a quadruple-header format began about 10 years ago. The highly anticipated, and well-attended annual event, has to some extent outgrown the capacity of our local high school facilities. 

 

As a result, the leadership of the Boys and Girls Club offered to partner with the Pittsfield Public Schools in an effort to showcase the high school student-athletes of our city at a facility that has a history of hosting memorable events. 

 

“This is a great opportunity for our community to come together,” Boys and Girls Club Executive Director Joe McGovern said. “Our organization has a passion for investing in our community and youth development. It will be great to see high school athletes and coaches, who grew up learning the game on this court, and who continue to serve as role models to our current youth league players, competing against each other in front of a large crowd.”

 

Tickets for the “War On The Floor” offer fans the opportunity to see all four games for the price of one. Admission is $5 for adults and $3. for students and senior citizens. Boys and Girls Club youth players and members will receive free admission, as the games are scheduled to be played on what is a half day of school for local youngsters. 

 

The games start at 2 p.m. with the JV girls and continue with the JV boys. The Pittsfield and Taconic varsity girls are scheduled to play at 5:30 with the boys varsity game to follow. 

 

Taconic senior guard Quincy Davis, who helped lead his team to a Western Mass Championship and State Championship Finals appearance last season, echoed the sentiments of players representing both PHS and Taconic.

 

“We’re excited to take the cross-town rivalry to the Boys and Girls Club,” Davis said. “These city games mean a lot to us. We all grew up at The Club with the goal of representing PHS or Taconic one day, so the chance to play these games at The Club just adds to the excitement and atmosphere.”

 

With just a few weeks remaining in the regular season, each of the participating teams is poised to qualify for the post-season with the goal of chasing a Western Mass Championship. As March Madness approaches, the “War On The Floor” will certainly offer a play-off style atmosphere leading to bragging rights to the city.

 

For more information regarding the event, contact the Pittsfield Public Schools Athletic Department at (413) 499-9522 or The Pittsfield Boys & Girls Club at (413) 448-8258.