The International Softball Congress (ISC) will return to the Quad Cities regional destination to celebrate its Diamond Anniversary at the 75th Annual ISC Men's Fastball World Tournament on August 14-21, 2021.
Due to the ongoing effects of the pandemic and future unknowns associated with it, the 2021 ISC World Tournament will move from its scheduled site in Kitchener, Ontario, to Sheridan Meadows Park in Eldridge, Iowa.
“With the potential travel restrictions and the impacts on sponsorships and volunteers in the Kitchener area, the host committee suggested to us that we should find another host for the 2021 tournament,” said ISC Executive Director Larry Fisher. “Once again, our friends at Visit Quad Cities stepped up on short notice to help us out and are willing to host the 2021 World Tournament. As expected, Visit Quad Cities accepted the challenge of finding a venue and delivered a solution.”
“Hosting the 75th Anniversary of the ISC World Tournament is a privilege and one that Visit Quad Cities looks forward to very much,” said Dave Herrell, President and CEO, Visit Quad Cities. “When the ISC reached out to us looking for possible solutions for this opportunity and the situation they were in for 2021, we were able to quickly create a solution that met their needs. We are grateful for the partnership we have with the City of Eldridge to make this work for August 2021 and are excited we will host back to back years of the tournament when it returns to the Quad Cities again in 2022.”
The awarding of the 2021 ISC World Tournament to Visit Quad Cities will have no impact on the 2022 ISC World Tournament, which is already slated to be held at Green Valley Sports Complex in Moline, Ill. Kitchener will have the opportunity to host the 2023 event, should the host committee be interested.
Visit Quad Cities identified Sheridan Meadows Park as a potential site for the 2021 ISC World Tournament, with some improvements the park would need to accomplish to meet the standards for the tournament. Thanks to the quick action by the City of Eldridge, a plan was developed to ensure the improvements would be ready by August.
“We are looking forward to welcoming the players and visitors from the ISC World Tournament this coming August and are honored to have been selected to host the 75th tournament,” said City of Eldridge Mayor Martin O’Boyle.
Fisher adds, “While visiting the Quad Cities with two ISC Executive Commissioners earlier this year, we witnessed how extremely excited Visit Quad Cities and the team in Eldridge were at the opportunity to host our World Tournament. ISC has so much confidence in Visit Quad Cities, and after being assured of the timeline for the field improvements, feeling the energy of City of Eldridge staff, Park Board members, and overall community, we knew this was a viable place for our 2021 75th Anniversary World Tournament.”
The ISC World Tournament games will begin on Saturday, Aug. 14 with the Hall of Fame breakfast and official opening ceremonies on Sunday, Aug. 15. Tournament play continues all week, with the championship game on Saturday, Aug. 21. The world’s top 30 ISC teams are expected to compete for the Championship.
In conjunction with the World Tournament, ISC will host a Legends Championship in Eldridge on August 19-21, 2021. The goal is to draw an additional 12-16 teams to play that are not eligible to play in the World Tournament.
Tournament information can be found at www.iscfastpitch.com. Complete schedule and ticket information will be available by early summer.
This will be the 15th time that the Quad Cities area has hosted the ISC World Tournament, starting with nine straight from 1961-1969 and again in 1973 followed by more recent visits in 2009, 2011, 2013, and 2016.
About ISC
The International Softball Congress is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting men's and youth fastpitch softball throughout North America. Find more information at www.iscfastpitch.com.
About Visit Quad Cities
Founded in 1990, Visit Quad Cities is the official Destination Management and Marketing Organization (DMMO) for the region. Visit Quad Cities is a private 501(c)(6) non-profit engine charged with driving economic opportunity through tourism, building our authentic brand, telling & selling the Quad Cities story, and enhancing Quad Citizens’ quality of life and quality of place.
There are no comments
Please login to post comments