Hoop Island, USA opens the Wildwoods’ summer event season with two days of non-stop basketball — just steps from the beach and boardwalk
WILDWOODS, NJ – May 11, 2026 — When summer arrives at the Jersey Shore, it doesn’t tiptoe in. On Saturday and Sunday, May 30 and 31, 200+ youth basketball teams from 14 states will descend on the Wildwoods Convention Center and surrounding gyms for Hoop Island, USA, one of the East Coast’s largest destination AAU tournaments — and one of the loudest, fastest-paced events the boardwalk hosts all summer.
Presented by Buckets By The Boardwalk, Hoop Island turns the Wildwoods Convention Center and surrounding gyms into a two-day basketball festival, with games running morning through evening across multiple courts. Boys’ and girls’ teams in grades 3 through 11 will compete for trophies and championship gear.. For visitors and second-home owners already in town for the weekend, it’s also one of the most entertaining family activities on the island to attend as a spectator. Tickets available at the door.
“Hoop Island isn’t built to feel like a regular tournament,” said T-John Casiello, director of Buckets By The Boardwalk. “Families come down for the basketball, but they leave with a full Wildwoods weekend — the beach, the boardwalk, the boards. That’s the whole point of doing this here. We wanted an event the town would actually feel.”
Beyond the games, the tournament is built around the Wildwoods experience itself. Teams stay in oceanfront hotels, eat on the boardwalk between games, and turn what could be a one-day trip into a full destination weekend. Past events have brought teams from Pennsylvania, New York, Maryland, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Ohio — filling local restaurants and hotels in one of the first big weekends of the Wildwoods summer season.
With Hoop Island returning bigger every year and upcoming sister events Beach Jam and the Showdown at the Shore on the calendar, Buckets By The Boardwalk is steadily turning Wildwood into one of the East Coast’s premier youth basketball destinations.
EVENT DETAILS
What: Hoop Island, USA – Youth Basketball Tournament
When: Saturday and Sunday, May 30–31, 2026
Where: Wildwoods Convention Center and surrounding gyms, Wildwood, NJ Spectator Tickets: Available for purchase at the door
More Info: BucketsByTheBoardwalk.com/hoopisland
