Rock Island Today

Fastpitch is returning to the Quad Cities this weekend, as Moline prepares to host the North American Fastpitch Association’s (NAFA) Masters Midwest Tournament.

The tournament, which will run from Friday afternoon through Sunday, will feature 36 teams from the United States and Canada. It will be the third year in a row that NAFA has hosted a major tournament at Moline’s Green Valley Sports Complex.

“The Quad Cities holds a long and distinguished reputation for hosting quality men’s national fastpitch softball teams,” NAFA Executive Director Benjie Hedgecock said in a news release. “The geographic location of the Quad Cities puts it in the heart of men’s fastpitch country. The facilities are excellent as are the entertainment options for players and families.”

Quad Cities Convention and Visitors Bureau Vice President of Sales Lynn Hunt told Rock Island Today that she also believes that the area is perfect to host such a tournament.

“We’re able to welcome these teams, provide them a quality venue to compete on, and then give them the support they need as far as a guiding committee that organizes and takes care of umpires, hotel needs for the teams and a staff that comes with the organizations, and the city itself has a lot to offer,” she said.

Although this will be the first time Moline has hosted the NAFA Masters Midwest Tournament, the city is no stranger to softball tournaments. Because the Green Valley Sports Complex boasts six well-maintained fields specially designed for fastpitch, it has been a prime location for other fastpitch events including multiple NAFA and Intercontinental Softball Conference (ISC) tournaments.

The Masters Midwest is expected to bring $200,000 into the economy over the course of just three days.

“So you’ll be bringing in at least … 700 players,” Hunt said. “And if they can each bring a person with them, you’re up to 1,400 people in town, so they’ll be generating revenue at our hotels, our restaurants, our gas stations, retail, attractions, you name it.”

Putting on such a big event takes a lot of coordination on the part of the NAFA and the Quad Cities CVB and requires the help of many volunteers. Hunt said that although a lot of people have stepped forward to help with the tournament, more volunteers are needed, especially for scorekeeping.

“It is important to get volunteers to help us out, whether it’s working the beer tent or admissions at the gate, helping with scorekeeping or running the scoreboard, or shuttling for some of the parking lots,” she said. “We have some host responsibilities to the organizers as far as helping with registration, taking care of the umpires when they’re in town, making sure that we have tents and the other infrastructure set up at the ballpark, so we’re always doing that.”

Anyone who would like to volunteer can do so by calling Amber Berge at 309-736-6829.

Daily admission to the tournament is $6 for adults and $4 for children, and weekend passes are available for $12 for adults and $8 for children.

Play begins at 5 p.m. Friday, and the championship is scheduled for 5 p.m. Sunday.