My name is Phil Clark, Deputy Commissioner of the St. Louis Big Balls Kickball Association (stlkickball.com), I spoke to your Commissioner Joe and suggested this was the best way to advertise to your league. I’m posting today regarding the National Kickball tournament we are hosting in St. Louis on September 5-7, 2009 Labor Day weekend. The tournament will be held in Tower Grove Park in St. Louis. This is an open tournament consisting of both lower and upper brackets, the lower being non-competitive and the upper being competitive. Both brackets are open to everyone but the lower bracket will be the larger of the two and will be a double elimination style tourney with a loser’s bracket. We are expecting large participation from our league’s teams (160 in total) which will likely make up a majority of the lower bracket. The upper bracket will likely consist of a smaller number of teams ideally 16 in total, pool play will determine qualification and seeding into the next round of play which will then be single elimination. Though the smaller of the two, the upper bracket will likely be tenacious competition. The top teams from each pool will advance to single elimination. Also there will be cahs prizes and trophies for the winners of each bracket.

Our rules will govern the play of the tournament you may review these rules as they are listed on our website. With one exception to the pitching, it will be all underhand in both brackets, this is done to level playing filed. As I'm not 100 percent sure if everyone is used to fast pitch overhand delivery. I do apologize as I am not familiar with your rules or style of play, but ours are mainly no bunting, 10 players in the field three of which females, four female roster requirement, 3 strikes is an out, foul on the second strike is an out. If you have any questions as you review our rules please feel free to contact me and I will clarify. Also we do use a 10 inch ball, I understand that is not very popular in your league but with a little practice it is easy to adjust accordingly. We've experimented with both 8.5 and 10 inch and it has turned out 10 inch is the more prefered.

As far as travel and hotel accommodations I’m at your disposal, we currently have 20 rooms reserved at a rate $82/night at the Red Roof Inn conveniently 10 minutes from the fields within city limits. This hotel is located in the heart if the city and is less than a 15 minute drive from all the bars, night clubs, popular restaurants, and other major attractions in St. Louis. I can assist you in booking however many rooms you need once you give me confirmation. We have other options for hotels considering their proximity to the fields, Holiday Inn $114/Night double beds, and the Drury Inn $140/Night. All three are located 10 minutes from the fields and are in an excellent neighborhood. If you prefer something nicer we also have options in downtown St. Louis which would also be a 10 minute drive to the fields. Also if you do plan on flying although most people are driving, let me know as I can also assist you on booking a flight at a reasonable rate. We are expecting participation from several regional cities and hoping to branch out further as the tournament date is draws nearer. Speaking with a few commissioners and event their event coordinators from other leagues, they are planning on bringing two teams, one team in the lower and one team in the upper division.

I will have more information for you as things progress along with your interest. If you could contact me via my email with your interest I would appreciate it. you can contact me at cpclark@slpmd.org or bigballsvp@gamil.com.

Thank you.


Phil Clark
Deputy Commissioner
St. Louis Big Balls Kickball