Several of the top men’s fastball teams and players in the world will hit diamonds in Tavistock and Shakespeare this weekend.

The annual Cephas Roth memorial tournament started Thursday night and continues until Sunday afternoon with the championship game at 2 p.m.

The tournament in its present form under the Cephas Roth name was set in 2011, with it having taken place years before as a men’s fastball invitational, has become a staple in the men’s fastball community.

“It’s tight knit softball community, so we started to expand what we’d done in the past and got some big clubs,” tournament co-chair Dave Bailey said in a phone interview. “It snowballed and it’s become quite popular. It’s probably considered one of the top invitational tournaments in North America now.”

This year the event has 10 teams participating, including five of the top nine ranked teams in the world with the Hill United Chiefs, New York Gremlins, Kitchener Hallman CanAm Twins, Toronto Batman and Kitchener Hallman Cubs all playing. The Czech Republic under-23 junior team will also take part as well as Shakespeare Falcons, Elmira Expos and Waterdown Hammer featuring local players.

Many teams use it as a tuneup for the American Softball Association finals the first weekend of August and the International Softball Congress world championships Aug. 11 to 20 in Rockford, Michigan.

“This is really the last invitational (tournament) before those championships. The majority of teams will have full rosters since it’s an opportunity to see where they sit before those tournaments,” Bailey said. “There’s a very good chance the ISC world champion will be playing in Tavistock this weekend.”

The sport has seen a large uptick in players in recent seasons as Tavistock and Innerkip have become a hub for fastball in Ontario.

As major tournaments have swung through the region and youth teams found success at provincials and nationals, it allows upcoming players witness what they can do with the sport.

“Our numbers have steadily risen over the last eight years. We stayed status quo this season, but we’re over 200 kids. I think it (the tournament) plays a role in helping them see the top level of the game. The players are good at being friendly with the kids,” Bailey, an executive with the Tavistock Minor Ball Association (TMBA), said.

“They’re not just seeing the top players from Ontario, but New Zealand, Argentina, Venezuela, Dominican Republic, United States and I think that’s had a huge impact on our association,” he added on seeing the best players first hand. “We’ve had a lot of success with our teams in recent years, so I think it’s had a big impact.”

The event is the TMBA’s largest fundraiser and named after Tavistock local Cephas Roth who was a longtime member of the Optimist Club of Tavistock and supporter of youth sports in the area. He passed away Nov. 11, 2010 at 60.

“We thought it’d be a nice way to honour his memory with a great international event to raise funds for our kids,” Bailey said of the tournament’s importance for TMBA. “We held the men’s junior nationals last year, but typically this tournament is our biggest fundraiser for the season. The Roth family was very gracious in letting us use his name.”

Normally the annual event is in mid-July, but with the International Softball Federation’s world championships having taken place in Whitehorse, Yukon during that period, the tournament was backed up to accommodate players and teams. With the ISF worlds every two years, Bailey said they may look at establishing a set weekend in the future, rather than bouncing back-and-forth every other year.

Tavistock minor softball teams will also be serving food and 50/50 tickets. There’ll also be a beer tent with live music throughout the weekend.

Weekend passes are $20 and single day are $10 with Friday only $5. Tavistock’s Queen’s Park and Optimist Park along with Shakespeare’s Optimist Park will host all games.

For a full schedule and results, visit: http://bit.ly/CephasRoth2017.

gcolgan@postmedia.com

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