Fire in the Sky tourney marking 20th year
The Orrville Fire in the Sky softball tournament, billed as the country’s largest single-age group event, will be held for the 20th time starting July 6.
For 14-and-under softball teams throughout the region and country – and beyond – there’s no place better to be than Orrville around the Fourth of July. That’s as true as every this year, as the Fire in the Sky Tournament, billed as the country’s largest single-age group event, hits town again.
This will be the 20th anniversary of the massive event (the 2020 tournament was wiped out by the pandemic), culminating in the July 8 championship game just before Orrville’s Fourth of July Fireworks.
“It’s a big deal really for the whole county and beyond,” Orrville Mayor Dave Handwerk said. “We do it over the Fourth and during that celebration and have around 100 teams many years. This year they might be at 90-some. Those people are all at hotels in Wooster, Wadsworth, over in Canton, everywhere.”
After approaching 100 teams last year, the number this year is 84 from nine states, said tournament director Joe Horn. He attributes the numbers being a little down to the holiday falling mid-week and related festivities taking place well after the actual Fourth.
“When the tournament doesn’t fall perfectly on the weekend we usually lose a couple of teams,” Horn said.
The softball tournament will feature two days of pool play on 13 fields in Orrville and surrounding areas, including Kidron and Rittman.
On a typical year – making the event anything but typical – three dozen or more fire fighters will volunteer their services to keep the tournament facilities in working order. Spread over four crews, the group will put the fields back into pristine condition prior to each game.
Fields are lined, dragged and watered between games, something not often seen in youth events. That’s a big selling point for teams coming in from the outside.
The tournament has blossomed over the past decade, going from a 60-team event in the early-2010s toward what it is now. The biggest field of 104 teams was on hand for the 2015 renewal, with teams coming hundreds of miles to take part. Past versions have included squads from Canada.
Participating teams are guaranteed four games in the tourney, along with free parking, free admission to games and the carnival, and access to the multitudes of food vendors on hand.
Not to be overlooked but not quite in time for this story is the 12U 5-Alarm Classic, running from June 30-July 2. The 10-year-old tournament also features a four-game guarantee and its proceeds help fund the Independence Day fireworks display.
The 12U event is limited to 36 teams. Horn said almost all of them will be back for the 14U tournament in a year or two, based on their experiences in Orrville at the younger event.
“I don’t know an exact number, but close to 100 percent of those teams come back in the 14U,” he said. “There aren’t as many 12U teams as there are in the 14U world. We try to keep it smaller, because it’s a warm-up for us. It helps get us prepared. We’ve been sold out in the 12U for the last five or six years. We’ve had the demand for 40 to 50 teams.”
There is no admission for the fair or softball games. The week will include rides, games and of course fair food. For more information see www.orrvillefireinthesky.com.