Thursday, December 26

Directions and Parking Info

The AOC Holiday Classic is being held at:

Arthur Junior/Senior High School
301 E. Columbia Street
Arthur, IL 61911


All vehicles are welcome to park in the same parking lot. However, if your team will be using a bus, we request that bus drivers park away from the main entrance(park on the west-side of the parking lot when possible) to allow space for parents, game officials, and other tournament personnel.

Directions to the AOC Holiday Classic
Once you arrive at the Arthur Junior/Senior high school and park in the parking lot just to the west of the main building, use the doors that are facing north, and are located between the school and the gym. You will enter a lobby area that connects both gymnasiums. There you can pay for admission, purchase concessions, or enter either gymnasium to be a part of the exciting AOC Holiday Classic





FROM THE SOUTH: Approx. 45 miles north of Effingham on I-57. Take Arcola exit 203, turn left or west. Go through Arcola and follow Rt 133 through Chesterville. This will take you to Arthur (approx. 10 miles). As you enter Arthur, you will pass Kuhn's Equipment on your right and Yoder's Kitchen on the left. You will see a Subway and a residential section on your right, and will pass a gas station on the left. The facility (The Arthur Junior/Senior high school) will be on the left approx 1 mile from the east edge of Arthur.


FROM THE NORTH: Approx. 40 miles south of Champaign on I-57. Take Arcola exit 203 and turn right or west. Go through Arcola and follow Rt. 133 through Chesterville. This will take you to Arthur (approx. 10 miles). The facility (The Arthur Junior/Senior high school) will be on the left approx 1 mile from the east edge of Arthur. As you enter Arthur, you will pass Kuhn's Equipment on your right and Yoder's Kitchen on the left. You will see a Subway and a residential section on your right, and will pass a gas station on the left.


FROM THE EAST: Depending on your location, it may be best to get to Paris and get on West Route 133. This is the route we recommend if you are coming from the Terre Haute area. It will take approximately 1 hour until you arrive in Arthur on Route 133. As you enter Arthur, you will pass Kuhn's Equipment on your right and Yoder's Kitchen on the left. Then you will see some housing on your right, and will pass a gas station on the left. The facility (The Arthur Junior/Senior high school) will be on the left approx 1 mile from the east edge of Arthur.


FROM THE WEST: We are located just over 30 minutes east of Decatur. The simplest route is to take Route 36 out of Decatur. This will take you through a intersection for La Place and you will also pass through Hammond, but will not need to stop. You will see a sign indicating that Arthur is five miles away (known as the Arthur-Atwood road). Turn right onto this road and you will drive through the business district of Arthur and will come to a 4-way stop (which is Route 133). Turn left onto East Route 133 and immediately you will see the Arthur Junior/Senior High School on your right.

Last Minute Note for Coaches and Fans

Tomorrow is Tournament Time!

Coaches - please be sure to check-in immediately upon arrival to receive your Welcome Packet with important information AND to verify your roster.


We are thrilled to have14 teams from 4 states headed to Arthur for the 9th Annual AOC Holiday Classic.

Doors open at 9:00 AM with the tip-off to the first game at 10:00 AM in both the East and West gymnasiums. For those who have not been to Arthur before, please note that both gyms are connected by a commons area. This means that once you pay for admissions, you can access either gym while staying warm. There will be a concession's area for fans and a special FREE Coaches Hospitality area available for those coaches whose teams are participating in this year's event.

Admissions Prices for Fans

$5.00  Adults

$3.00 Children

Ages 5 & under are free


Thursday, December 19

Tournament Pairings & Game Times for the 9th Annual AOC Holiday Classic

You wanted it. You got it!

We are thrilled to release the tournament pairings and game times.

The boy's tournament pairings and schedule are here

The girl's tournament pairings and schedule are here

Clicking on either link will access a file that you can download and print.

While you are here on the blogsite, be sure to vote in our polls to the right!

Saturday, December 14

Teams Participating in 9th Annual AOC Holiday Classic

Boy's Teams
Arthur-Okaw Christian (host)
Agape
Calumet

Christian Academy of Greater St. Louis
Crossroads Christian
Cornerstone Christian Academy
Tower Grove
Wabash Valley Warriors

Girl's Teams
Arthur-Okaw Christian (host)
Agape
Calumet
Mountain Top
Tower Grove
Wabash Valley Warriors

Hotel Recommendations for 9th Annual AOC Holiday Classic

Two weeks away now..


Here's a list in order of our hotel recommendations based on distance, average cost, and amenities.

1. Best Western Plus  Green Mill Village Hotel and Suites  217-268-5000   (10.8 Miles, 16 minutes, Arcola, IL)

2. Holiday Inn Express 217-253-6363 (17 Miles, 22 minutes, Tuscola, IL)

3. Baymont Inn and Suites  217-253-3500 (16.6 Miles, 21 minutes, Tuscola, IL)

3. Comfort Inn 217-268-4000   (9.9 Miles, 13 minutes, Arcola, IL)

Other hotels are available in Arcola and Tuscola, but these are the most popular.

Thursday, September 19

Three Months from the 9th Annual AOC Holiday Classic!

We are excited to have sent invitations to boy's and girl's varsity basketball team(s) for the 9th Annual AOC Holiday Classic on December 27-28th in Arthur, IL. Some of you have indicated interest in recent weeks. Others were recommended to us as teams that would be an outstanding addition to our event. 

We recently received an e-mail that read:  
"You guys have an awesome tournament I remember going up there when I was in high school"

Another individual wrote a few days ago and said:  
"We had a great experience last year, and really enjoyed the tourney."
 
We are working hard to make our tournament a great place to bring the family as you enjoy time off of school. Many teams appreciate the tournament as a way to fill a very large hole in their basketball schedule. Plus, we guarantee a team three games so even if you are traveling from 8 hours away like we had one team do, it will be worth the drive!
 
Questions for this year's event should be directed to Tournament Director Brice Kauffman
at (863) 370-0296 or via e-mail: brice_kauffmail@hotmail.com


Look forward to seeing you in Arthur on December 27-28th!

Thursday, January 3

3 Questions for You - Check out the polls!

Be sure to check out the 3 one-question polls here on the blogsite to the right.
One is about other tournaments, one is about concession's food, and the other is about admission's prices.
 Whether coach, player, parent, friend, fan, or volunteer = Your Opinions Matter! So...go ahead and let us know by voting in all three. It's one click per poll. Three questions total. Easy for you. Beneficial to us all!

Tournament Sets New Attendance Record!

We have hosted the tournament for 8 years in a row. This year, initial review of our records indicates approximately 800 people (not including game officials) were in Arthur for the tournament. Teams from 5 states stayed in hotels ranging from Champaign to Mattoon. We also had about 800 views on our Facebook page. This is also a record!

We have sent out Feedback Forms to those coaches and AD's on our e-mail list to help us continue
to grow for next year's event. If you didn't get one, please let us know immediately so we can e-mail one your way. Also, if you are a fan, parent, coach, or player and want to submit a Feedback Form, we would be happy to e-mail one to you as well -- even if you are not on our regular mailing list.

You matter!  It takes alot of work and between 40-50 volunteers to make the tournament happen.
However, it also requires a tremendous group of teams, coaches, and fans to help make the event a growing success!

Who Made the All-Tournament Team?

There is alot of info being posted to our Facebook page.

With 17 teams and just 2 days for 30 games to be played...we couldn't keep everything updated frequently.
So, we posted and posted and posted to: www.facebook.com/aoctournament   If you haven't "liked" us already, please do so! It's a great way to keep in touch throughout the year and to find out info you missed if you left the tournament early because you had a 5 hour drive home.

All-Tournament Teams have been posted for both the boy's and girl's tournaments.

We are so glad you joined us this year in Arthur! 

Sunday, December 23

Bring Your Own Basketballs!

Teams,

I've been informed that you should (a.k.a. MUST!) bring your own basketballs to warm-up with. We may not have access to any extras and we don't want that to cause a problem for any of our teams. So, please plan on bringing a few extra basketballs (might not hurt to be sure they are marked to identify your team).

Game balls will be provided.

Thursday, December 20

Are You Prepared? Important Notes about Your Arrival at the Tournament

Important Notes about your Team's Arrival

1. Directions and address (for those who use GPS) is on the blogsite (www.aoctournament.blogspot.com)

2. It would be helpful to have the name and cell phone # of your head coach or bus driver. Typically, we dont have to use these, but in the event that your team leaves something at the facility or if there is inclement weather, etc. It's nice to be able to contact your team while they are enroute to/from the tournament site because this can save us all time and hassle.

3. As you are driving to the tournament if for any reason you need to contact us on-site, you may call either Brice Kauffman (863-370-0296) or Greg Mast (217-273-3721). If you don't reach us, leave a message or continue to try.

4. We want to stress again -- PLEASE allow plenty of time for your commute to Arthur. It's critical that we keep to our schedule as much as possible. If your team is not available at your scheduled game time, tournament management will likely require that your team forfeit the game.The schedule is so packed - we cannot reschedule games!

5. For those teams that play at 10:00 AM on Day 1 (Dec 27th) -- please note that we are not granted access to the building till 60 minutes prior to game-time. If your team arrives prior to this, please do not try to enter the facility. Communicate this to anyone traveling with your team in separate vehicles.

6. If you have any other questions that have not been addressed in an e-mail or on Facebook or the blogsite -- please e-mail us or call.

7. Finally, note on the schedules that the home team has been clearly designated for all games. Be sure to bring both sets of uniforms. It's not fair to an opponent to require them to rush to change when they were simply following the schedule.

 When you arrive at the Arthur Junior/Senior High School and enter the gymnasium lobby, let the admissions individual know what school you are with and they will be able to point you in the right direction to obtain your Team Packet and find the appropriate locker-room.

PS. If you haven't seen the game schedule and pairings scroll down here on the blogsite for that info!

Tuesday, December 18

Have you seen the revised tournament schedule?

Please be sure to check the latest edition of the tournament schedule. We had to make a correction to the schedule which affected a few teams. Is your team one of them?

The East Gym and West Gym schedules are updated and posted below. They are posted separately due to some technical issues here on the blogsite. However, keep in mind that the gyms are connected by an area that will feature concessions and restrooms. No need to drive to a separate gymasium!

Game Pairings and Times (East Gym) Released!


Time
Game
Friday 12/28
East Gym
10:00am
B2 – Calumet vs. Tower Grove
11:30am


G1 – Calumet vs. Tower Grove
1:00pm


G2 – Mountain Top vs. Agape
2:30pm
B6 – Tower Grove vs. Lakeshore
4:00pm
B8 – Wabash Valley vs. CAGSL
5:30pm
G3 – Agape vs. AOC
7:00pm
G4 – Tower Grove vs. Mountain Top
8:30pm
G5 – AOC vs. Calumet
Saturday 12/29

9:00am
G6 – Agape vs. Tower Grove
10:30am
G7 – Mountain Top vs. AOC
Noon
G8 – Calumet vs. Agape
1:30pm
B16 – Consolation Semifinal
3:00pm
B18 – Consolation Game
4:30pm
G9 – AOC vs. Tower Grove
6:00pm
G10 – Mountain Top vs. Calumet

Game Pairings and Times (West Gym) Released!



Time
Game
Friday 12/28
West Gym
10:00am
B1 – AOC vs. Agape
11:30am
B3 – First Baptist vs. Wabash Valley
1:00pm


B4 – Cono vs. Decatur Homeschool
2:30pm
B5 – Agape vs. Mountain Top
4:00pm
B7 – New Jerusalem vs. Cono
5:30pm
B9 – Lakeshore vs. Calumet
7:00pm
B10 – Mountain Top vs. AOC
8:30pm
B11 – CAGSL vs. First Baptist
Saturday 12/29

9:00am
B12 – Decatur Homeschool vs. New Jerusalem
10:30am
B13 – Semifinal
Noon
B14 – Semifinal
1:30pm
B15 – Consolation Semifinal
3:00pm
B17 – Consolation Game
4:30pm
B19 – Consolation Championship
6:00pm
B20 – Championship