{"id":4159,"date":"2010-06-04T20:01:27","date_gmt":"2010-06-05T03:01:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/morningbrief\/?p=4159"},"modified":"2010-06-04T20:02:13","modified_gmt":"2010-06-05T03:02:13","slug":"international-softball-congress-world-tournament-in-midland-to-feature-top-players","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/morningbrief\/?p=4159","title":{"rendered":"International Softball Congress World Tournament in Midland to feature top players"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>
\n(click logo to view original news story)<\/em><\/p>\n

In just over two months, all eyes in the men\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s fastpitch softball world will turn on Midland for the start of the International Softball Congress World Tournament, to be held Aug. 13-21 at Emerson Park and the Redcoat Softball Complex.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153The tournament is going to be a collection of the best men\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s fastpitch players in the world, said Kyle Beane, co-chairman of the 2010 Midland ISC Host Committee. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153These players work during the offseason getting ready for this tournament. And we believe we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got the best city and venue for these players to play.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Twenty-four teams have already qualified for the World Tournament, and a total of 48 teams will make the field.<\/p>\n

This year\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s format has been revised to include all 48 teams in the opening rounds of the ISC World Tournament. The first 24 teams that are eliminated from the World Tournament will be entered in the ISC II Championship single-elimination bracket.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Teams started to qualify during the Memorial Day weekend and there will be qualifiers through July 2,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said Beane. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Also, in the 50-and-over Legends Tournament we have 10 teams signed up and would like to have 16 teams. The Under-19 tournament has eight qualified teams presently.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

With over 41,000 individuals or groups having committed to be sponsors, make donations or provide in-kind services, preparations for Beane and co-chairman David Lach have transitioned away from fund raising and on to park preparations.
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u0153In the past, host cities were able to secure grants to run the tournament,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said Lach. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153We couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t secure those, so we had to approach a lot of different local people and organizations. Fortunately, we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve had great participation from the community.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d
\nBeane agreed.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re just thrilled,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said Beane of the number of sponsors. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The people that have supported softball for years have continued their support.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d
\nLach said the improved Redcoat Softball Complex (formerly St. Charles Fields) has given the ISC a great venue to supplement the primary venue of Emerson Park.
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Emerson Park is the premier facility for this type of event, but it only has three fields,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said Lach. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153With upgrades to the Redcoat Complex by the Midland Softball Association, we are now able to use the new Redcoat Complex. The complex has meeting rooms, restrooms and changing facilities, which better meets the needs of the ISC staff and players.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d <\/p>\n

Beane and Lach now focus on field preparation, coordinating volunteers and the live streaming of games as they head toward opening day of the tournament.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Right now, we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re trying to get (Emerson Park) set up,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said Beane. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re trying to figure out where are we going to put the ticket gates, beer tents, trainers, photographers and vendors. Do we have enough seating for people? We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re looking at bringing some tents in for people to sit under.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Also included in the preparation will be an upgrade to the infield at Currie Stadium in Emerson Park.
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Anybody who has played there knows that there is quite a crown on the infield,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said Beane. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Starting June 14, we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re going to make it flat again and improve the playability.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Past tournaments have needed between 175 and 200 volunteers.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got a good start at securing enough volunteers, but we still need more,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said Beane. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll need about 200 volunteers to take tickets, park cars, clean up or work in the beer tent.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d <\/p>\n

Anyone wishing to volunteer can email the host committee at info@midland2010isc.com or go to the tournament website at www.midland2010isc.com.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Being a world championship, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s important that the tournament offer live streaming for fans all over the world.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Charter is actively working with us to minimize the costs of high-speed Internet installation into Currie Stadium,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said Lach. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Thus far, through a detailed site review, we have been able to reduce the costs of bringing hard-wired service to the facility by two-thirds.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(click logo to view original news story) In just over two months, all eyes in the men\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s fastpitch softball world will turn on Midland for the start of the International Softball Congress World Tournament, to be held Aug. 13-21 at Emerson Park and the Redcoat Softball Complex. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The tournament is going to be a collection […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3,9],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/morningbrief\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4159"}],"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=4159"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/morningbrief\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4159\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/morningbrief\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4159"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/morningbrief\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4159"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/morningbrief\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4159"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}