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!

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! 

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.

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!

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