Detroit Offers Up the 29th Midwest Invitational Softball Tournament

If anyone is looking for an alternative to the NAGAAA business as usual you can take a trip to Detroit this weekend to check out the 29th Annual Midwest Invitational Softball Tournament!  With 41 teams making up this year’s tournament field the competition will be outstanding over Labor Day weekend.

Bill Peters is the co-director of this year’s tournament and he thinks that the yearly tournament location changes and the opportunity to create allies outside of the gay community is a game changer for the M.I.S.T.  “The tournament rotates between Detroit, Columbus, Cleveland and Cincinnati each year.  The M.I.S.T has been open to LGBT and allied teams since its beginning.  One of the draws is that we play with our straight friends and allies,” said Peters.

There is always a bit of competition between the rotating host cities as to who can put on the best tournament and Detroit is definitely stepping up to the plate this year.  The host hotel is the Detroit Marriott-Livonia where the Friday night check in and hospitality party will take place.  The tournament will be providing free food and beverage at the party from 5 pm to 11 pm.  The games will be played at the Canton Sports Center in nearby Canton, Michigan with an awards ceremony on Sunday after the championship games at the host hotel.  A closing party will be held at Necto in Ann Arbor, Michigan to help wind down the Labor Day weekend.  The tournament is providing buses to shuttle tournament goers to the club in Ann Arbor on Sunday.

The Detroit based tournament will be guaranteeing five games per team and trophies will be awarded to the top three teams in each division.  The major difference for folks that normally participate in NAGAAA tournaments is that the M.I.S.T. uses USSSA rules and does not work off the NAGAAA ratings model.  “Detroit’s LGBT softball league and M.I.S.T. are not affiliated with NAGAAA,” said Bill Peters, M.I.S.T. co-director.

Main sponsors of the event include the Metro Detroit LGBT Softball League, Otha Williams Allstate Insurance, Dr. Glenn Spencer DDS, Hayloft Saloon, Menjo’s, Necto, Malebox II and the Motown Invitational Classic.  There are an additional 30 plus MVP and Patron sponsors that have also contributed to help put on the tournament.

Good luck to Detroit on what is sure to be an ever-growing tournament as it rotates across the Midwestern United States in the years to come.

*Thanks to Bill Peters, M.I.S.T. co-director for his help with this tournament spotlight article.*