Remember those summer days in the backyard?
The ones filled with that skinny yellow bat and a pile of hollow plastic balls. It didn’t matter if there were two, three or 20 people, there were always enough for a Wiffle ball game.
As we’ve gotten older, those games have become few and far between. Some of us have moved on to other lawn games, while others simply called it a career after straining their rotator cuff for the 10th time by overthrowing.
But if there’s ever a time to come out of retirement, NHTI’s annual Charity Wiffle Ball Tournament is a real good reason to. Not only will April 12 be a day filled with Wiffle ball, but it’s going to give a big boost to one local family.
Katie is a tough little kid. In her six years, she has survived cancer, undergone two brain surgeries and currently suffers from a rare liver condition called Alagille Syndrome. And every single dollar raised will go to help Katie and her family.
“The family has been through a lot of tough times,” said Chuck Lloyd, Interim Vice President of Student Affairs and Professor of Business at NHTI. “She’s already been through so much. More than any 6-year-old should have to.”
This is the 11th straight year of the event (and 12th tournament overall) and so far, NHTI, in partnership with Community Bridges, has raised close to $50,000 for local families in need. Each year, Community Bridges selects a family to benefit in the Concord area.
“It’s a nice partnership,” Lloyd said. “And our students are really involved in it.”
So here’s the low down of what you need to know: The cost is $100 per team, and Lloyd recommends having 10 players, with an additional business sponsor match of $100. Games begin that Saturday at 9 a.m. and run on the hour, every hour until a champion is crowned.
“It does get competitive, but we call it fun and fundraising,” Lloyd said.
Plan A is to have games running simultaneously on the campus quad and in the Goldie Crocker Wellness Center Gym. After the winter we’ve had, the outdoor conditions are the wild card, but Lloyd has already seen signs of grass. If the quad is not usable, all games will be held in the gym and will just cause the day to run a little longer.
Yet that could be a good thing with local businesses donating food, as well gift cards and items for the silent auction and raffle. All the proceeds from the food and auction will also go to help Katie’s family. That’s pretty cool if you ask us.
“It’s a great community event,” Lloyd said. “It’s a win-win-win all the way around for the school, the community and the family.”
Now let’s talk about the ground rules, since each house usually had its own set. This tournament is no different – and very different. The games are three innings long and teams get five minutes per inning. Your teammate pitches to you and can lob it right in there. The point is to score, and there are no out limitations. We have decided to call it smash and bash Wiffle ball. Catchy, right?
“You’ve got five minutes to score as many times as you can, and you’ve only got three innings,” Lloyd said. “The games are quick and frantic.”
And the final scores are more like a basketball game than a backyard Wiffle ball contest.
“The scores are like 75 to 70, not three to two,” Lloyd said.
Lloyd said they plan for 16 to 20 teams per year, but can accommodate more, like when they had a tournament-high of 26 three years ago when local businesses began challenging each other. The more teams, the more money to help a six-year-old girl and her family. They’ll even get all the team captains together to present the family with one of those giant checks.
“Like the ones you’d see in a sweepstakes,” Lloyd said.
Registration is open until April 10, just two days before the tournament, to get the brackets in order. And you thought you were done with brackets? Not so fast. Teams from other colleges and high schools, business, groups of friends and families are all encouraged to sign up.
And on April 10, Margaritas in Concord is hosting a fundraiser from 4 to 10 p.m., and if a guest mentions NHTI Wiffleball to their server, 15 percent of the bill goes to the family.
To register, contact NHTI’s Office of Student Life at 230-4045 or at nhtistudentlife@ccsnh.edu. For those looking to just watch, the tournament is open to the public and admission is by donation.
