There are always a lot of challenges in putting on a major event, especially one with a storied history and large roster of visitors to account for.  In his first full year of running the Malad Little League Tournament (the oldest continuously running one in the state!), Travis Arnout had expected weather to be a potential issue.  Maybe end a game early.  Maybe bring out the ponchos for a few minutes.  Maybe close the dunk tank.  But weather was much more of a factor than that as this year’s tournament got underway.  Whether a helicopter has been used to dry the base paths of a Little League infield before or not is unknown, but it can no longer be said to NOT have happened.  As convoluted as that sentence was, the clarity of a helicopter rotor rippling the grass of a playfield in the early morning is undeniable, and after a twenty or so minute visit from Mike Hess, the field was dry enough to begin the day’s play.

Over the course of the weekend, a number of hard fought games between teams from the area—Twin Falls, Cache Valley, Burley, and of course Malad—kept the hundreds of visiting fans busy.  After Thursday’s weather, Arnout realized he would probably have to expedite the schedule in order to avoid running into any potential weather-related problems in getting all the games in.  To his credit, the rearranged schedule managed to just barely beat out the lightning, wind, and rain that once again descended on the valley Saturday evening.  

The three Malad teams all played hard and put out a great effort, but ultimately did not make it through to the final contests in the bracket, which saw two Viper teams go head to head in one bracket, and the Blue Sox face off against the Green Sox in the other.

A water dunk tank was on scene, giving eager throwers the chance to dunk members of the Oneida County School District, as well as their friends and teammates.  Some of the other planned events, such as the homerun derby, had to be curtailed in order to make sure that the planned games were able to be played before the weather prevented it from happening, which it nearly did.

Games were played on the fields at City Park as well as Pioneer Park behind the elementary.  The extent to which the new baseball and softball complex across from the high school will affect the scheduling and space at the tournament is not yet known, but it should provide more options and potentially expand the pool of teams able to be hosted.  As the historic tournament that it is, both the City of Malad and supporters of youth baseball are committed to making sure that the tournament is able to continue with the strong support that it has received in the past.  

Though unpredictable rain, wind, and lighting are likely to be issues off and on in the coming years, the tournament itself should certainly be able to weather them and remain an anticipated spot on the sports calendar.