Local high school basketball teams have competed for the Gold Ball trophy for nearly 60 years.

But there is more to play for than championships during the Rome News-Tribune/Seven Hills Rotary Club Holiday Festival.

This year, the tournament will provide $42,000 to local youth education and leadership projects through sponsors and ticket sales.

The largest donation will go to the Boys and Girls Club of Northwest Georgia, which will get $11,000 from the tournament, which starts Monday.

Berry College and Georgia Highlands College each receive $4,000 for scholarships, while the Ferst Foundation gets funds to give 50 children younger than 5 a book a month.

Smaller projects include essay contests at Floyd County College and Career Academy and Rome High School, and other projects that the Rotary Club help fund throughout the year.

Each of the 11 schools that participate in the five-day tournament will receive at least $1,000.

Both Berry College and Georgia Highlands College will host the tournament once again this year with games starting Monday at 4:30 p.m.

The championship games will be Friday at Berry’s Cage Center with the girls’ title game starting at 7 p.m. and the boys’ set to tip-off at 8:30 p.m.

The following sponsors have contributed to this year’s tournament:

Event sponsor: United Way; Platinum sponsors: Watters & Associates Landscape and Outdoor, Living Studio, Wilson Sports/Owens Sporting Goods;

Gold sponsors: Chick-fil-A, Citizens First Bank, Georgia Power, Garner and Glover Insurance, Harbin Clinic, Hardy Realty, Haynes and Moore, Hi-Tech Signs Today, Northwest Georgia Housing Authority, Redmond Regional Medical Center, Rome Braves, Rome Orthopedic Center, Southeastern Mills, State Mutual Insurance, Whittington, Jones, & Rudert CPA’s PC;

Silver sponsors: North Georgia Equipment Co., Belgard Pavers & Hardscape, Brinson, Askew, Berry, Seigler, Richardson & Davis, LLP, Brown & Brown Insurance, Brugg / Suhner, Classic Impressions, Ford, Gittings & Kane Jewelers, Georgia Northwestern Technical College, Greater Rome Bank, Heritage First Bank, In Honor of Boys & Girls Club of Northwest Georgia, Joe Watters, Kelly Services, Locke Financial Services, McRae, Stegall, & Peek Attorneys, Owens Hardware, River City Bank, Trees Unlimited, Venue Dog;

Bronze sponsors: Northwest Georgia Credit Union, Vargo Orthodontics, OTR Wheel Engineering, Inc., Accounting Solutions Plus, Alan Horne, Brooks Building Group, Builders Hardware, Cartridge World, Coosa Country Club, Culbreth-Carr-Watson Animal Clinic, Darlington School, Dr. Paul Ferguson, Floyd County College and Career Academy, Frank Barron Jr., Gardner Wright, Georgia Foot & Ankle Specialist, H&H Lawn care, Hortman-Carney Dental, Inc., J.L. Todd Auction Co., J.R. & Gini Davis, Rome Family & Cosmetic Dentistry, Shorter University Ledbetter College of Business, Smith, Lewis, & Haley Attorneys, Starr Matthews Insurance, The Finnell Firm, Toles, Temple, & Wright, Transfiguration Episcopal Church, West Rome Animal Clinic, Wright Bagby, Rome Radiology Group, Charles Williams REIC.