One of the best-run tournaments of the summer is the Champions Cup, which wrapped up its 11^th year of competition on Sunday at Bill Barber Park in Irvine, Calif.

But this year’s finale had a twist—if you were expecting to see a champion in the 18U division crowned on the field you’d have been surprised to learn that a coin flip won by the Arizona Hot Shots-Ewing team over the Corona Angels decided who got the trophies.

Because the Angels had to fly to Georgia for the start of today’s TC/USA Nationals and because the Hotshots were without pitching and were decimated by injuries—including two players who had to go to the hospital—both head coaches, Marty Tyson of the Angels and Stephanie Ewing of the Hotshots decided to be “co-champions” with the coin flip winner getting the hardware.

“It would have been interesting to see what the Angels could have done,” says Jim Bollinger, the Tournament Director. “They were playing at a very high level and beat a good Hawaii team, Mililani Prep, 14-0 and that team has players that are really good.”

“And we had another Hawaii team, Guava Jam, win the 16U championship last week so you know the softball in Hawaii is getting really good.”

The Hotshots beat another Angels team, the Corona Angels coached by Kim Howard 6-2 to make it to the finals or it would have been two teams from the same organization going head-to-head in the title contest.

Overall, it was another successful Champions Cup featuring 98 teams from 27 states—ranging from Florida to Hawaii – even with the General Tires World Cup of Softball IX being held on the same complex and taking over the main field.

“Everything went smoothly,” continued Bollinger, “even though we had to rework the fields and go offsite to two locations not typically associated with the tournament. All in all it went exceptionally well and the positive to having the World Cup here (in Irvine) was that everyone had a big smile on their face—from the little kids to the grandmas and grandpas.”

There are several reasons the Champions Cup stands out and has more than 100 college coaches who attend (110 this year according to Bollinger).

For one, the games go off every two hours so the schedule is typically on time. Another is the assistance from the city itself, especially the local hotels.

“We have great support from the hotels,” explains Susan Bollinger, Jim’s wife and a co-director of the event.  “In the 11 years we’ve run the tournament they’ve bent over backwards to make it affordable for the players and families because they appreciate we’re a non-profit organization.”

Being non-profit, the Champions Cup leaders take the revenues generated and forward the money into scholarships—usually between $8,000 and $10,000 each year.”

“We’ve paid out over $48,000 in scholarships in the lifetime of the Champions Cup,” Jim Bollinger explains. “The first three years we were down $35,000, but once we covered that we’ve been helping players get scholarships as they come to the site and apply online. A board then looks at the applications and decides who gets what. It’s nice that the event puts money towards girls’ education and not into somebody’s pocket.”

Bollinger, who’s daughter, Tia, was an All-American pitcher at Washington, is now helping as an assistant to Tia at Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, Calif.

“Yes, there’s a little nepotism going on there,” the father laughs, “but I managed to go through my first year there without getting fired!”

 

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Here’s a photo gallery of action held during the week at the 18U level: