The annual Pekin Insurance Holiday Tournament is scheduled to commence on Thursday, December 26th to Saturday, December 28th at Pekin Community High School (PCHS). This year, there will be 16 teams entering the tournament. 

Pekin’s Athletic Director, Cole Stoner, always looks forward to the Holiday Tournament. Stoner explains, “The Pekin Insurance Holiday Tournament, with the help of sponsors and the community, welcomes 16 teams into Pekin for three days, and there are few things more that I love than showing off Pekin to anyone who comes!”

Teams from all over Illinois will arrive in Pekin to compete in the tournament. A handful of the teams are local ones, such as: Washington, Richwoods, Morton, and of course, the Pekin Dragons. Other teams travel from across the state to participate in the tournament, such teams include: Freeport, Plainfield South, Hersey, and multiple others. 

This tournament would not be possible without its support from local businesses and individuals. While Pekin Insurance is the title sponsor for the event, the tournament also has over 40 other sponsors that help with the production of the annual competition. 

According to the tournament website, The Pekin Insurance Holiday Tournament is one of the longest running high school basketball tournaments in the state. Many college basketball players and a sprinkling of NBA players have participated in the tournament. This year will be no exception. 

Stoner noted that: “In the field this year are three of four 3A Final Four teams from last year’s IHSA State Finals. [Those teams being: Richwoods, Mt. Zion, and returning champ Mt. Carmel] On top of that, in pre-season released rankings, there were six teams in the field that were in the top 25 of their respective class.”

If you are unable to attend the tournament in person, there is an option to watch on the Hudl. Along with this, all of the PCHS games will be live-streamed on Dragon Media’s YouTube page. 

Of course, PCHS would like to see a large crowd supporting the Dragons. There are many reasons for the community to attend the tournament, including that the tournament offers “one of the best facilities in the state with some of the best basketball for three days,” according to Stoner.