Midlothian’s Memorial Park is the new home for the World Wiffle® Ball Championship, taking place this summer July 14 –15. This four-decade bat and ball operation has grown the sport resulting in a move from South Bend, IN, which has been their home for 33 years to Skokie, IL and now settled in the Chicago Southland. The sheer size of Midlothian Park District’s Memorial Park will allow for growth of the World Wiffle® Ball Championship, which was chosen for its modern six-ball field complex, its proximity to downtown Chicago and two major airports. Lastly, there is a strong Wiffle® following in the Chicago metro area.
Coordinator John Premetz wants to have as many teams as possible, and why not? This sport can be played by a wide range of ages from 12 to 70, playing with perforated plastic Wiffle® Balls, on miniature ball fields with four-foot home run fences. Teams from around the world play annually in the two-day world championship, an open event for male and female wiffleballers. A team can be almost any group of five people you can think of, office workers, church team, family members, PTA and the list goes on. There are no umpires and after a four-game round robin tournament on Saturday, teams that qualify play a single-elimination tournament on Sunday.
The sport is increasing in popularity and has been featured on ESPN as well as many other news outlets. Wiffle has a cult-like following that is fun and refreshing due to the clear rules of the game, making this a perfect outlet for the kid in everyone. Competition is there at any stage of the game, but in the end, it’s the fun of the event with the possibility of winning the plastic-bat trophy that makes this the perfect amount excitement with a touch of kitsch.