Babe Ruth Softball Tournament Trail

2010 Florida State Championships

The Opening Ceremonies and Skills Challenge will begin 5:00 PM and conclude around 8:00 PM.  Please remember to carpool - Arrive to Davis Park with five (5) or more people in each car.  That will really help to manage parking.  Volunteers will be at the parking lots to assist.  We will utilize the four parking lots at Davis Park and some grassy areas adjacent to the main park road.  Overflow parking will be available at Crosswater Church, which is adjacent to the Davis Park entrance.

Local Ponte Vedra Beach restaurants will have tents setup to serve dinner.  Please plan to eat during the playing of the Skills Challenge events between 5:00 and 7:00 PM.  There will be lots of food and drinks from:

• Bogey's Grill - Chicken...

• Woody's Bar-B-Q - Barbeque...

• Chick-fil-A - Chicken...

• Foxes Pizza - Pizza...

• Tropical Smoothie - Wraps and Smoothies...

• Drinks - Served by Ponte Vedra Girls Softball...

To help expedite the serving of food and drinks, there will be a Meal Ticket Tent setup.  There you will purchase tickets that can be used to acquire food or drinks.  We prefer to have all the money handled away from food service.

This year, the Skills Challenge will be held before the Opening Ceremonies.  The younger girls will do their events first, followed by the older girls.  Here is the schedule including when the girls from each division should arrive to check in:

Here is a list of the events:

1.

“The Sultan of Swat” Hitting Competition

Hitting off a pitching machine, each contestant gets a chance to hit 5 balls on a field marked with point values depending on the area of field. The high value areas of the field include the left and right centerfield “power alleys” and the point values are increased as you move further from home plate. The last ball, marked “BABE RUTH” is worth double the points.

The pitch will be delivered from a pitching machine (Louisville Slugger Ultimate).  The machine will be set at a division appropriate speed.  8U-32 MPH, 10U-36, 12U-40, 14U-42, and 16U-44.
 

2.

“Strikeout the Babe” Pitching Competition

Pitchers will pitch 7 balls into a pitching target, receiving points for each ball that goes through the cutout strike zone.  The first two balls are worth 10 points, 20 for the next two, 30 for the next two, and 50 for the last. 

The 8U girls will also participate in this event.  You should have one or more girls on your team that have their sights set on pitching when they move up to 10U.  So, select the one you think will throw the most number of strikes. 

8U and 10U girls will pitch from 35' with an 11" ball.  All others from 40' with a 12" ball.
 

3.

“Faster than the Babe” Running Competition

Each player is timed as they run from home plate, around the bases and back to home.  For team scoring purposes, all participants will receive 50 points.  1st place will receive an additional 100 points, 2nd-50 points, 3rd-30 points, 4th-7th 20 points.

4.

”Throw Babe Out at Home” Throwing Competition

Standing at a distance appropriate to the player's division (8U-70', 10U-80', 12U-90', 14U-100', and 16U-110'), a ball is rolled to the contestant who fields and then throws the ball home to a target of stacked (pyramid style) garbage cans. 

Each of the garbage cans will be labeled with a point value.  30 points for the bottom middle can, 20 points for the bottom side cans, and 10 points for either of the top cans.  Each contestant will have five attempts.

5.

“Catch Babe Stealing Second” – Catcher’s Throw down

This event requires a catcher and shortstop and simulates a throw down to 2nd base on an attempted steal.  The catcher will receive a pitch from a pitching machine (Louisville Slugger Ultimate).  The machine will be set at a division appropriate speed.  8U-32 MPH, 10U-36, 12U-40, 14U-42, and 16U-44.

A stopwatch will record the time from the moment the ball hits the catcher's glove until the shortstop catches the ball and tags second base with her glove.  A line will be painted on the field indicating where the shortstop must begin each of their three attempts.  Their fastest time of three attempts will determine their score.

For team scoring purposes, all participants will receive 50 points.  1st place will receive an additional 100 points, 2nd-50 points, 3rd-30 points, 4th-7th 20 points.

Although there is no stealing in 8U play, your team no doubt has players who will perform this task well.  So pick out your best catcher and shortstop.

Finalist Round

The contestants with the three best scores or times will advance to a final round in each event.  All who tie for 3rd place will also advance.  Contestants will perform the exact same task.  Awards will be given to 1st and 2nd place finalists.  Additional rounds will be played if there are ties.

Team Scoring

The Champion team in each age-division will be determined by adding the scores of the five events attained during the initial round only.  Awards will be given to the Manager of the 1st place team in each division.

Awards

Awards will be given to individual 1st and 2nd place finishers in each event in each division, and a team trophy for the 1st place team in each division.  Awards will be presented during the Opening Ceremonies. 

The five (5) events require a total of seven (7) players.  A girl can participate in only one event.  Managers should carefully consider the girls selected for each event.  Please indicate the first and last names of each girl participating on the online Team Registration form.

When you arrive for the Skills Challenge, contestants should check-in at the Check-in Tent located behind the backstop of field BB-3.  Click here to see the layout of Davis Park and where Skills Challenge events will take place.