GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — An annual wiffle ball tournament took over a West Side backyard on Tuesday and Wednesday, as hundreds of kids competed for the top spots.
Mark Augustyn and his family built Mission Field in the backyard of their home about ten years ago, and began hosting the annual event seven years ago.
“This is a big part of the kids' summer,” Mark told FOX 17 Wednesday afternoon.
"I've had many parents tell me they would skip several travel tournaments if they could play in the wiffle ball tournament."
They began hosting the tournament after another neighborhood family stopped doing something similar, after their children got too old to continue.
"It built from... 12, or maybe about 20 teams, to about 30 over the first three years, and then the last four years, we've been at max capacity," Marc explained.
They now have 40 teams, made up of 200 kids, playing 71 games over a two-day period.
Each game is four innings, running a maximum of 15 minutes each.
"That's what brings us back to do this, is knowing that kids love it," Marc said.
He pulls it off every year thanks to the help of his wife, son, and about 30 volunteers.
"We have 1,000 hot dogs in the garage... Last year we served 750 Hot dogs," he said with a smile.
His wife and other family members are responsible for the food inside, while Marc makes sure everything is happening as it should outside.
Their son Grady wasn't able to participate in last year's tournament after injuring his arm during a baseball game.
“So, hopefully we can win it this year," Grady said Wednesday.
“It's a big commitment, but it's a whole neighborhood effort... we all know it's worth it, even the extra parts.”
Because they have been able to pick up a long list of local sponsors in recent years, there is no cost for any of the kids to participate. They get shirts and food at no cost.
Any of the extra money they have at the end of things, they donate to an orphanage in Haiti. It is the same orphanage from where they adopted Grady from when he was a child.
"God has a way of kind of bringing everybody together, and so for us, it's been a great way to just meet a whole new community with him in our life," Marc said.
Sponsors for the 2022 Summer Classic at Mission Field
- Mercantile Bank
- Bodman PLC
- Blackford Capitol
- Charter Capital Partners
- Fox Motor Group
- Miller Canfield
- Avgeris and Associates
- Rehmann
- NVint/ Element Four
- Belden Brick & Supply
- Pinnacle Construction
- Stairway Concepts
- Riteway Plumbing
- Andy J. Egan Co. Inc.
- Franklin Partners
- D.K. Weiss, Holt & Associates, PLLC
- Visser Brothers Construction
- Custom Profile
- JVL Wealth Strategies
- Chatham Financial
- Clarity Family Offices
- Service Express
- SignComp
- NAI West Michigan
- Rhodes McKee PC
