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Softball Tournament Features Horseshoes One of the most popular traditions of Coldwater's annual MDA benefit softball tournament is...horseshoes. The horseshoe tournament has been in existence since 1981. "Dave Lefeld and Pete Belna started the horseshoe tournament with MDA. Hank Pottkotter was in on it, too," said Jerry Bertke, who has organized the horseshoe tournament for the past decade. The horseshoe tournament attracts from 24 to 40 teams each year, he noted. This years tournament takes place Sunday, August 19, with sign-in at 1:30 p.m. According to Donna Gilmore, the MD tournament's treasurer, the horseshoe tournament generates more than $200 in entry fees alone each year. Tournament spokesperson Dale Buschur estimated that in addition to tournament fees, income generated by players and their families buying food and drinks and purchasing raffle tickets may triple that amount. The double-elimination horseshoe tournament is a casual affair. "Anyone can come up and sign in-men, women. Just come in and lay your $5 down," Bertke said. "You can be a national pitcher or someone who's never played before in your life." After payment of the entry fee, participants draw numbers from a hat. "You don't know who your partner is gong to be until after the numbers are picked from the hat. It's the luck of the draw," he added. Contestants play on one of Coldwater Park's eight horseshoe pits. Play begins at 2 p.m. and runs through approximately 5:30 p.m., according to Bertke. Members of the first-place teams each receive a plaque. Recognition for the first-through third-place teams is awarded, but up to seven or eight places receive prizes, which may include T-shirts or baseball caps. Of course, there are unique dangers caused by the MDA tournament's namesake sport. "One of the guys, while he was pitching, he got hit by a softball off Diamond 8," said Bertke. "If you here 'Incoming!', you cover your head and watch out," he warned. |