What says “softball” better than drenching the mayor pro tem?

At most big-time softball tournaments, the opening ceremony includes little more than a series of boring, rah-rah speeches near home plate. If you’re expecting that at Thursday morning’s opening ceremonies for the ASA Girls Fast Pitch 14U “A” Southern National Championship, think again. The City of College Station Parks and Recreation staff has devised a unique twist.

Players and coaches representing 40 teams from Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas and Oklahoma will be paraded into the Adamson Lagoon pool deck at 9:30 a.m. for team photos. After some brief remarks from city and tournament officials, Creek View Elementary music teacher Kelly Herriage will sing the national anthem.

Then things will get fun.

The grand finale will be a unique twist on the customary “first pitch.” A representative of each team will go down the water slide to officially open the tournament — but the teams won’t be the only ones participating. Mayor Pro-Tem Karl Mooney and Parks and Recreation Director David Schmitz will also take the plunge.

What better way to open a big-time event than to see your local officials get drenched?

>>UPDATE: Click here to see a photo of Mooney’s “splashdown.”

Tournament play begins Thursday evening at Central Park and Veterans Park, with games continuing all day Friday and Saturday followed by the championship game on Sunday. Admission is free. Click here for more tournament information.

We expect more than 1,000 visitors – including participants’ families – to check into local hotels starting Wednesday. As one of America’s friendliest cities, we’ll offer these visitors a genuine welcome, knowing the significant impact they have on our hotels, restaurants and retail stores. We hope to help them quickly discover why we are one of America’s 10 Great Places to Live.

Meanwhile, our continued promotion of athletic tourism enables the City of College Station to maintain the high-quality facilities that are consistently demanded by the nation’s most prominent amateur and youth sports organizations, including the American Softball Association, which has a long-standing and beneficial relationship with the city.

We look forward to hosting these teams as they chase their dreams of winning a national championship.