By Breven Honda
Last month, the first of three events in the Mesquite Senior Games (MSG) commenced with the men’s softball tournament.
Men’s Softball Recap: From Oct. 4-14, competition was on display among five different age brackets at Pioneer Park. The weather conditions were significantly better than the previous year.
“The whole tournament went really well,” said Sandy Tudor, Mesquite Senior Games President and softball event director. “The teams are always happy to be here. This year, we were 20 degrees cooler than we were last year, and I took credit for that. I told them I did everything I could to keep them from being too hot. We had all age groups play some kind of a tournament. A couple of them were small, and they just played a three-team Round Robin and then a single elimination. But everybody had a good time and is looking forward to next year’s tournament.”
Teams traveled from all across the United States to compete, which gives people the chance to experience Mesquite while playing softball.
“We had two teams from Alaska who play each other all the time at home, but they still come down here and play each other again,” Tudor said. “And then they go to St. George and play each other again. There’s a lot of friendship and camaraderie that goes with these players.”
Ultimately, the MSG men’s softball tournament serves as a tune-up for the Huntsman World Senior Games in St. George, Utah. It gives the teams some practice to shake off the rust while competing in Nevada’s fastest-growing city.
“Some of them haven’t played in months, so it helps them a lot,” Tudor said. Tudor coordinates the MSG tournament to take place just before the Huntsman World Senior Games age bracket tournaments so that teams can stop in Mesquite en route to Utah.
In addition to the competition, Tudor said she reached her goals with the snack bar, in terms of getting volunteers and keeping everyone well-fed.
“It went really well,” she said. “The only volunteers we need are for the concession stand because the umpires are paid umpires from various places; a couple of them are local, and some of them were here for Huntsman. One day, there were two teams playing, and it was really slow. I think I manned the snack bar by myself. I did $17 before they finished. They finished and started eating, and I did $150 after they finished. So it was good.”
When it comes to the snack bar, prices are meant to value the customer and not be overpriced.
“We make a little money, we cover our costs, we make a little money, and we keep them happy,” Tudor said. “But this one gal said, ‘My God, a hot dog and a soda would cost me $9 in Vegas. It’s $3 here.’ I said, ‘Well, I think we have our priorities straight.’ We’re not doing this to make money. We’re doing it to keep you guys happy and cover our costs, so we’re good at that.”
Golf Tournament Preview: After softball, there is a couple of weeks of downtime before the next event: the golf tournament, which takes place Nov. 5 at Coyote Willows, a nine-hole course.
“Everybody’s looking forward to golf,” Tudor said. “We’ve got a food truck coming, so everybody should be happy with that.”
Tudor said the event is full with about 72 golfers now preparing to play the nine-hole course twice. This year, the winning opportunities have been expanded by event director Shawn Edwards.
In addition to playing as a two-person team (in scramble and best ball format) for the best overall score, medals will be handed out for individual play. These individual awards will be based on gender and within five-year age brackets (50-54, 55-59, 60-64, 65-69, etc.).
“It seems to work well, because that way people get to play with who they want, regardless of their age limitations,” Tudor said, noting there will be a team consisting of someone who is 84 years old and someone who is 64 years old.
After the competition on the course, there will be a raffle after the tournament, which is currently being prepared for by Edwards, Tudor, and the committee. Prizes include wind chimes, water bottles, and more. People are welcome to donate prizes both before and on the day of the tournament.
“Absolutely, we’ll take prizes on the day of the tournament,” she said. “I’ll take raffle prizes, not a problem. It seems to me that the golf course gave us a raffle prize last year as we were registering people.”
Bowling Tournament Preview: After golf, the final event of the fall season and the calendar year takes place with the holiday 9-pin No Tap bowling event.
The tournament is scheduled for Dec. 6 at the Virgin River Hotel and Casino Bowling Center. Registration opened on Oct. 27, and the last day to register, if the event is not full, is Nov. 25. There will be three games of play, which will follow all United States Bowling Congress (USBC) rules.
This year’s theme is Winter Wonderland.
“One of our former board members, who’s an incredible artist, is doing some bowling pins decorated as snowman and penguin and some other stuff,” Tudor said. “We’ll use those as raffle prizes for bowling, as well as decoration. I think the T-shirts are going to have ‘Santa’s favorite bowler’ or something on them.”
