When St. Augustine’s sixth grader Madi Rysavy realized that last year might be her final time playing in the three-on-three basketball tournament named after her late uncle, she decided she was going to do something about it.

So the 12-year old took over the Dan Rysavy tournament this year and she’s looking forward to bringing the tournament, which is held in Pacelli Gym, to the next generation. Madi started playing in the tournament when she was four years old, but last year was the first year she invited a group of her friends to play in it.

“Last year was the first year I actually got friends to go,” Madi said. “When I told them it might be the last year they were like ‘somehow we’ve got to keep this going’ because we had so much fun.”

Madi never knew her uncle Dan as he passed away before she was born. But she’s heard plenty of stories about him and she’s heard about how the tournament has brought old friends from Pacelli together over the last 34 years.

Madi is also active in swimming, but she enjoys playing basketball as well. She enjoyed watching her older cousin Ann Rysavy play for Lyle-Pacelli and she really got into LP’s state run this year that saw the team finish fourth in Class A.

“The first game [at state] was exciting, the second game I cried and the third game we cried on the way home,” Madi said. “It was fun to watch those girls get that far because they come from such a small school.”

While the thought of organizing a basketball tournament may not sound like fun to most 12-year olds, Madi is actually looking forward to the task. She sees it as a chance to bring different generations together for a day of fun on the basketball court.

“I’m excited to take the tournament,” Madi said. “I like going and seeing my whole family and adding friends makes it more fun. I’m excited to organize it.”

Madi’s mother Heather Rysavy hopes her daughter can keep the Dan Rysvay tournament running for years to come. She said the tournament always been about a fun day.

“It’s really just truly about people coming together that were friends,” Heather said. “The one reason we’re at Pacelli is it is a family and everybody knows everybody. All these people come home every year to do do this because Pacelli is a family to them. It’s important for us to continue this under [Dan’s] name.”

Sign up for the tournament is Friday from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. and the tournament begins 9 a.m. Saturday. The cost is 20 dollars for adults and 10 dollars for kids.