Elgin tournament will be back in 2011

A report published by an area blog this week said that the Elgin Holiday Tournament will be discontinued after this season.

Such rumors of the tournament's demise have been greatly exaggerated, Elgin athletic director Gwen Poore said Monday.

“The truth is that we love this tournament and coach (Mike) Sitter has expressed an interest in keeping it going,” Poore said. “Our kids love it, our fans love it. It's a good moneymaker for our booster club with the concession stand. Our administration is behind us and loves having the tournament. We just enjoy putting it on.

“We want this to continue for a long time. We're in our 36th year and it's one of the longest-running tournaments in the state. There will be a 37th. Guaranteed.”

Poore said the tournament will have to replace two schools next season: Centennial from Las Vegas and one unnamed school set to leave Elgin for a tournament at Hinsdale South. Two other schools “are on the fence,” she said, but it won't be a problem to replace four teams. if necessary.

“We have interest from other schools that want to come, so I know we can get some quality teams coming in,” Poore said.