{"id":3916,"date":"2010-03-11T11:22:51","date_gmt":"2010-03-11T18:22:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/morningbrief\/?p=3916"},"modified":"2010-03-11T11:24:29","modified_gmt":"2010-03-11T18:24:29","slug":"california-classic-brings-open-level-fastpitch-back-to-southern-california","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/morningbrief\/?p=3916","title":{"rendered":"California Classic brings open-level fastpitch back to Southern California"},"content":{"rendered":"

From “OttoinFocus”<\/strong>
\n\"\"<\/a>
\n(click banner for original news story)<\/em><\/p>\n

Written by Bob Otto on March 11th, 2010
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u0153We are hoping to make the California Classic the premiere tournament in the Western U.S.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Chris McGehee<\/p>\n

BAKERSFIELD, CA \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Once upon a time, Southern California was blessed with an abundance of open-level men\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s fastpitch tournaments.<\/p>\n

The Long Beach Nitehawks, The Lakewood Jets, the Vista Bombers, and the city of Oceanside hosted annual tournaments. These renowned tournaments drew world-class teams from throughout California and the southwest.<\/p>\n

But those tournaments have long disappeared.<\/p>\n

But three men have launched a Southern California revival of sorts. Dave Weldin, Chris McGehee, and Robert McCormick \u00e2\u20ac\u201c all from Bakersfield \u00e2\u20ac\u201c have banded together to create the \u00e2\u20ac\u01532010 California Classic.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Their goal is to bring International Softball Congress (ISC) open-level men\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s fastpitch back to the southland.<\/p>\n

The California Classic will be held June 19-20 in Santee at Sportsplex USA \u00e2\u20ac\u201c a professional softball park that opened early this year.<\/p>\n

TOP-FLIGHT COMPETITION
\n12 teams have entered from California, Oregon, New Mexico, Nebraska, Mexico, and Canada. The tournament is shaping up to be a battle royal. For at stake is a coveted prize:<\/p>\n

A berth into the 63rd Annual ISC World Tournament in Midland, Michigan, August 13-21.<\/p>\n

Now why would three men from Bakersfield \u00e2\u20ac\u201c located in central California \u00e2\u20ac\u201c want to host a tournament in the San Diego area?<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153We decided to host a tournament in San Diego mainly due to the location,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Said Weldin, who manages the California A\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s out of Bakersfield.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153There are a lot of attractions in San Diego and Sportsplex USA and the hotel are approximately 15 minutes from the San Diego Airport. Therefore, our tourney should be completed with no one having to leave early to catch flights.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d
\nWeldin and McGehee plan on the tournament becoming an annual event. A must-attend tournament in Southern California.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153We are hoping to make the California Classic the premiere tournament in the Western U.S.,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said McGehee, who plays for the Bakersfield Silverhawks.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153We want to grow this tournament to the point where we will be able to put together a field that would include the top teams in the world.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d
\nMcGehee added that future plans include a lower division of up to12 teams.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153That would allow some of the (lower division) teams the opportunity to play in a top quality tournament,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he said, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153and hopefully, encourage those teams to move up and try to play at the next level.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

ISC II TofC CHAMPS
\nAs the manager of the California A\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s, Weldin realizes to compete at the ISC World Tournament and ISC II Tournament of Champions level, the A\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s must tangle with top-flight competition.<\/p>\n

But a look into the recent past reveals he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s already done pretty well.<\/p>\n

Weldin managed the Bakersfield Taylor Farms Lumberkings to the championship of the ISC II Tournament of Champions in 2008. He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s had a taste of ISC competition. And he wants more.<\/p>\n

Now the task is to get back to the 2010 ISC World Tournament.<\/p>\n

A FANS DELIGHT
\nAnd with only one tournament berth allotted to the California Classic, the competition figures to be fierce. It also promises to be a delight for fastpitch fans.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153We want to put together an Open-level tournament that would be fun for the fans and the teams and their families,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Weldin said.<\/p>\n

The response so far?<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153The teams that have entered are all excited about the opportunity to play against other fastptich teams that are all trying to qualify for the World Tournament,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d McGehee said.<\/p>\n

TOURNAMENT SPECIFICS:
\nName: 2010 California Classic
\nWhat: California Classic Men\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s ISC Fastpitch Softball Tournament
\nWho: Hosted by the California A\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s and Bakersfield Silverhawks
\nWhen: June 19-20, 2010
\nWhere: Sportsplex USA, Santee, CA,
\nFormat: Round Robin Single Elimination with a 4 Game Guarantee
\nWho To Contact: David Weldin: davidw@expressinsurance.com; Bobby McCormick: mccormickservices10@yahoo.com; Chris McGehee: garageworks@bak.rr.com.<\/p>\n

To learn more about Sportsplex USA in Santee, visit their website. Sportsplex USA<\/p>\n

Visit the San Diego Convention and Visitors Bureau for things to do in San Diego.
\nClick For Things To Do In San Diego<\/p>\n

Visit these websites for more boy\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s and men\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s fastpitch news:<\/p>\n

Al\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Fastball
\nFastpitch West
\nInternational Softball Congress
\nNorth American Fastpitch Association
\n2010 ISC World Tournament, Midland, Mich.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From “OttoinFocus” (click banner for original news story) Written by Bob Otto on March 11th, 2010 \u00e2\u20ac\u0153We are hoping to make the California Classic the premiere tournament in the Western U.S.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Chris McGehee BAKERSFIELD, CA \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Once upon a time, Southern California was blessed with an abundance of open-level men\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s fastpitch tournaments. The Long […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3,6,9],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/morningbrief\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3916"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/morningbrief\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/morningbrief\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/morningbrief\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/morningbrief\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3916"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/morningbrief\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3916\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/morningbrief\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3916"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/morningbrief\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3916"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/morningbrief\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3916"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}