The Okaw Valley Conference tournament got kicked off over the weekend, and the site for this year's games will be a new venue.

Maroa-Forsyth will be the host of the Okaw Tournament, as the past several years, Decatur St. Teresa has been the site of things. Superintendent of Maroa-Forsyth Schools, Mike Williams says hosting the tournament is not easy. He says there are a lot of behind the scenes things that go into it.

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For many years, Decatur St. Teresa was the host of the annual tournament, but before that, the tournament would rotate sites. Williams explains the decision to have the tournament based in Decatur was strictly financial. He says the change this time around is thanks to improved facilities around the conference.

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While hosting the Okaw Valley Tournament may seem like a big financial win for a district, Williams says that is not the case. He says Maroa-Forsyth get s a guarantee to host the tournament, and the conference covers the expenses for that, but any profits they take in go directly back into the conference to help fund other activities. The Okaw Valley Boys basketball tournament is basically the biggest fundraiser of the year for conference.

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Williams says the Okaw Valley tournament is a great draw for the casual basketball fan and he looks forward to hosting the Okaw Valley tournament this year. The tournament got kicked off Friday and games began and Maroa-Forsyth High School Saturday. Games will continue through the week as well.