Telegraph file photo by TOM KING Nashua North's Brian Ascani looks to move on Thornton Academy's William Chapman during the 2018 Chick Fil A finals at the Belanger Gym.

NASHUA – The balls will be bouncing, the pucks will be dropping, all beginning today.

And the wrestling mats get laid out on Friday.

Yes, the Christmas gifts are barely unwrapped but that won’t stop the area’s premier holiday tournaments – the Chick-fil-A Holiday Basketball Tournament and the Conway Arena Holiday Hockey Tournament from getting underway. Then there’s the George Bossi Lowell Holiday Wrestling Tournament on Friday and Saturday.

There a few other teams playing in holiday tourneys elsewhere, so here’s a look at how things shape up:

BASKETBALL

Obviously, the Chick-fil-A is the premiere event, and today it will be held at two venues, with the girls opening round games at Nashua North’s Titans Gym and the boys tipping off at Nashua South’s Belanger Gym.

Both boys and girls games then will all be at South the rest of the way, with the girls semis Friday at 2 p.m. and 3:30, and the boys semis at 5 and 6:30 p.m. (approximate).

The girls finals are Saturday at 3 p.m. and the boys finals at 4:30 p.m. There are consolation round games throughout the first part of Friday beginning at 8 a.m. and Saturday beginning at 9 a.m. at South’s Belanger Gym and the South medium size gym.

In past years, the tourney would begin a couple of days after Christmas, and start as early as 8 a.m.just using South as the venue. But this year, Nashua Athletic Director Lisa Gingras and new tourney director Allison Lynn opted to start today so the event could be wrapped up by Saturday. Chick Fil A does not operate on Sunday for any reason. However Monday has been reserved as a snow date for the finals, girls at noon and boys immediately after.

“It’s a great event,” said Lynn, who was the assistant director last year, and has taken over for previous tourney chief John Penkala. “My kids have been coming to this event since they were six, eight, 10. … That’s my goal, to create that environment that people want to keep coming.”

Also, Gingras said that North is being used so girls hoop fans can see four games in one setting.

“We had some comments that people would like to sit and watch four girls games one after the other,” Gingras said, “so now they can do that for the first day.”

Thornton Academy of Saco, Me. will be back to defend the boys title, but Goffstown will not be back to defend its girls crown. Thornton is off to a 4-0 start.

The boys teams will be Thornton, Nashua North, Nashua South, Merrimack, Alvirne, Souhegan, Goffstown and Milford. The girls are North, South, Alvirne, Milford, Merrimack, Keene, Campbell and Souhegan.

Today’s boys games beginning at 1:30 are Thornton vs. Merrimack, Souhegan vs. Alvirne at 3 p.m., North vs. Milford at 4:30 p.m. and South vs. Goffstown at 6 p.m.

The girls games today begin at North at 1:30 with Souhegan vs. Alvirne, then Keene vs. Merrimack at 3 p.m., South vs. Campbell at 4:30, and North vs. Milford at 6 p.m.

Lynn likes the idea that was hatched a few years ago of making the tourney a co-ed event.

“Girls and boys teams should support each other, and the parents should support each other,” she said. “And hopefully the schools embrace that as well.”

Penkala made it known at the end of last year’s event he was stepping aside, and Lynn said she has several volunteers to help.

“(Penkala) left a great road map,” she said. “It’s great because it’s (mainly) a local tournament. It should be great.”

Not all local hoop teams are in the Chick-fil-A. Here’s a look at where some are going:

The Bishop Guertin boys will be competing in the Commonwealth Motors Christmas Classic at Methuen (Mass.) High School. The Cards, who don’t open their regular season until Jan. 3, take on Methuen at 2 p.m. on Friday. They are in the White Division with the other two teams being North Andover and St. John’s Prep. Division finals are on Sunday (the tourney is a two day, two division event).

Meanwhile, the most intriguing event outside the area is actually outside the region, as the Bishop Guertin girls are traveling to Naples, Fla.to compete in the 16-team Naples Holiday Shootout Saturday, Monday, and Dec. 31 (finals). The Cards, who have started out 2-0, take on what was one of the top teams in the country last year, Miami Country Day, on Saturday at 4:30 p.m.

They are in the “National Division” with Miami Country Day, Ensworth High of Nashville, Tenn.; Mercy Academy of Louisville, Ky.; Fayetville (Ark.) High, HB Plant High of Tampa, Fla.; Germantown Academy of Montgomery County, Pa.; and Barren Collier High of Naples, Fla.

If the Cards win their opener – MCD has a 6-foot-9 center – they will play Monday at 4:30 in the semis with the finals at 6 p.m on Tuesday. If they lose in the first round they will play at 10:30 a.m. Monday. All teams are guaranteed three games.

“We’re looking forward to three high quality games,” Cards coach Brad Kreick said. “We’re stepping into unchartered territory.”

The Hollis Brookline girls hoop team won’t be, as they will be returning to play in the round-robin (no title game, etc.) Salem Lady Blue Devil Holiday Tournament at Salem High School.

The Cavaliers take on Pinkerton at 1 p.m. today, then Greater Lowell Technical School on Friday at 4 p.m., followed by a game Saturday vs. Goffstown at 2 p.m.

The Hollis Brookline boys, meanwhile, will travel to Portland, Maine to play in the Portland Red Claws Christmas Showcase today and Friday. They’ll take on Waynflete School of Portland today at 4 p.m. and Lincoln Academy of New Castle, Mai ne Friday at 11:30 a.m.

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HOCKEY

Yes, the Conway Arena tourney is back in a somewhat condensed form after taking last year off.

There will be five local teams competing – Nashua North-Souhegan, South-Pelham, Alvirne-Milford, Merrimack, and Hollis Brookline-Derryfield. The lone non-local is Keene, which won the last tourney in 2017 and hosted its own four-team event last year.

“We’re excited about it,” South-Pelham coach Shawn Connors said. “Most of the parents were upset that we were going to Keene last year when we could have had a tournament ourselves. Lisa and the parents stepped up and said we’re going to try to make it work. … It’s great we won’t have to get up at 7 a.m.to go to Keene. We’ve got it back, we’re ready to roll.”

Games will be shortened to two 20-minute halves with one intermission each to make fresh ice. The tourney opens today at 11:10 a.m.with Alvirne -Milford (0-1) taking on Hollis Brookline-Derryfield (2-0), then North-Souhegan (0-1-1) vs. Merrimack (0-1) at 12:50 p.m. The last game of the day is South-Pelham vs. Keene at 2:30 p.m.

On Friday, Hollis Brookline-Derryfield face Merrimack at 11:10 a.m., followed by South-Pelham vs. Alvirne-Milford at 12:50 p.m. and North-Souhegan vs. Keene at 2:30 p.m.

The finalists for Saturday’s 2 p.m. title game will be the top two best overall records, but after that tiebreakers in order are head to head, least penalty minutes, goals against,and then goals for.

Bishop Guertin, meanwhile will travel to Woonsocket, R.I.to once again compete in the eight-team Mount St. Charles Holiday Faceoff at Adelard Arena. The Cardinals will take on host Mount St. Charles on Friday at 8 p.m., and they will play on Saturday and Sunday as well. The finals are Sunday.

The other games on Friday are Fairfield (Conn.) Prep vs. Bishop Hendricken (Warwick, R.I.) at 2 p.m., Dematha Catholic (Hyatsville, Md.) vs. St. Joseph Collegiate Institute (Buffalo, N.Y.) at 4 p.m., La Salle College High (Montgomery County, Pa.) vs. Franklin (Mass.) High School at 6.

Guertin coach Gary Bishop always feels this event is a great measuring stick for his team.

“We’ll find out who can play, and who can’t,” he said.

WRESTLING

Several local teams will be part of the 81-school field that will compete at the very prestigious Lowell Holiday Tournament at the Tsongas Center, beginning at 10 a.m.with the first round and 8:30 p.m. with the fifth round on Friday.

Rounds six through nine start at 8:30 a.m. Saturday with the finals going from 5-8 p.m.

Among the local teams sending wrestlers to compete will be Alvirne, Bishop Guertin, Hollis Brookline, Merrimack and Nashua North and Nashua South.