Home of the New Jersey Wiffle®Ball Association

Dear Wifflers,

Its tournament time again. The NJWA's 2009 Summer Showdown was a great success, over 70 teams from eleven states participated on the NJWA's 18 fields. In 2010 the NJWA is expecting more teams than ever. We changed the tournament to a one day ONLY event to accommodate more teams.

The NJWA's 2010 tournament, The Summer Showdown in Trenton, will take place on August 7h. All games will be played at Cadwalader Park in Trenton and will begin at 9am on Saturday. Because of the amount of responses from our website, I recommend that your team respond ASAP. The NJWA is expecting well over 100 responses, however we can only accommodate 100 teams, so I can't stress enough to respond ASAP. The (postmark) deadline for applications is July 26th, 2010, online registration deadline is July 30th. NO EXCEPTIONS. There are two ways to register. One- On the Internet at www.wiffleballusa.com and Two- The application sent out in the packets. Visa, Master Card, AMEX and Discover are now an acceptable form of payment when registering for all NJWA events. You may use your credit card while registering online or when mailing in your application you can pay with a check or credit card.

The 2010 tournament outline will be as follows: A round robin (pool play) style format, each team will be placed in a bracket with three other teams. Each team will play each other once and all teams in every bracket that finish 2-1 or 3-0 will advance to the playoffs, which will than be single elimination. All teams are guaranteed a minimum of three games. Team can choose to enter either a Pro Division- for the Wifflers with some experience, those teams that can hang with the BIG BOYS (with a higher prize payout) and A Semi-Pro Division- for the Wifflers that just want to have a good ole time. All teams are guaranteed at least three games. Make checks or money orders ONLY payable to the NJWA. The entry fee for the Pro Division is $100 per team, the top four teams will be awarded prize money, and the amount is depending on the number of responses. Semi-Pro Division is also $100 per team, a smaller cash prize will be awarded to the top four teams.

Prize money breakdown for 2010, IF the NJWA gets its normal 56+ teams, is as follows: Pro Division Payout- 1st Place $1,000, 2nd Place $500, 3rd Place $250 and 4th Place $100. Semi-Pro Payout- 1st Place $500, 2nd Place $250, 3rd Place $150 and 4th Place $100. Prizes can be even higher depending on the turnout. The NJWA adopted this format (Pro/Semi-Pro) so ALL Wifflers can participate and have a good time. After all, that is what Wiffle®Ball is all about, having fun.

The rules for the 2010 tournament will be the NJWA rules (see our website). We will be using the TARGET for the strike zone, a 30 inches high by 20 inches wide metal plate, 12 inches off the ground. The count will be a four ball three strike count. The pitcher's mound will be 42 feet from home plate (45 ft. to the target). The roster may consist of a minimum of two players and maximum of five players. A team may bat five players, the pitcher, two fielders and two DHs. NJWA rulebooks are available on the website and will be available at the tournament.

Our goal is for everyone to have fun and possibly win some money at the same time; we want all Wifflers to have a great experience. If you or anyone on your team has any questions, feel free to call me or e-mail me at wiffleusa@aol.com.If you can't make the Summer Showdown, the NJWA's annual Wiffle@Fest tournament will be in October, stay tuned to the website for details.

Sincerely Yours,
Mike Palinczar
President, NJWA