Published: Sep. 26, 2020 at 9:02 PM CDT
PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WJHG) -The Panama City Beach Sports Complex was bustling with people over the weekend. 2D Baseball headed into town, a company that hosts baseball tournaments all over the nation. They brought in 12 teams for this weekend. Josh Martin, a tournament director for 2D, says with the pandemic, this fall is not looking to be what it usually is.
“This fall is a little bit different because not as many kids and teams are out participating, so this summer took a hit with tournament baseball, travel baseball. A lot of organizations chose to take this time off. Obviously, these are the ones who played a little bit with us and are also trying to play this fall, but when you talk to a lot of these coaches out here, most of them only played in maybe one or two tournaments this summer. For a lot of them, this is their first tournament here so far this fall,” said Martin.
With the fall baseball season being pushed back and set to end near December, Austin Anderson, Florida Grind’s coach, says he’s not too worried about players peaking too early.
“I think we will have enough time in the winter to get over the fall season and start fresh in the spring. I think as long as the guys do what we ask them to do and go out there and give one hundred percent effort, we will be fine no matter what happens,” said Anderson.
Also out at the PCB Sports Complex, the World Sports League has set up camp. They have been out the last three weekends, hosting adult softball events with teams from all over the nation. This weekend being the smallest of the past three, but senior vice president, David Ruschmeier, says despite the pandemic, it has been a record setting year.
“We were getting a lot of calls early in the year as to whether the events were going to happen with COVID, but once we got the clearance, late May, some of the parks started opening back up with restrictions, and the people had sat at home enough at that point. Our numbers actually, once we opened up, we had directors make more money this year than they did in previous years when they ran every weekend just because the teams were ready to get out of the house and come play. The numbers have been really good. We set records with this overall of three weekends. Teams come from as far away as Pennsylvania and out west as far as Texas,” said Ruschmeier.
Both tournaments started Saturday morning and will run through Sunday.
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Panama City Beach is situated on 27 miles of sugar-white sand beaches bordering clear, emerald-green waters where the Gulf of Mexico and St. Andrew Bay converge. With 320 days of sunshine annually and attractions such as St. Andrews State Park and Pier Park, the region has long been favored by travelers seeking an affordable beach vacation with year-round offerings for families, couples, groups and adventure-seekers. These include championship golf courses, spas, sporting events, award-winning dining and diverse recreational activities. In addition, Panama City Beach’s Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport offers non-stop flights on Delta Airlines, Southwest Airlines and United Airlines. For more information, call 850-233-5070 or visit the official website of the Panama City Beach Convention and Visitors Bureau at www.visitpanamacitybeach.com. Stay connected with Panama City Beach on Twitter (@Visit_PCB), Instagram (@Visit_PCB) and Facebook (@VisitPanamaCityBeach).
About Visit Panama City Beach
Visit Panama City Beach is the official destination marketing organization for Panama City Beach, Florida. The award-winning organization has earned industry accreditation (DMAP) from Destinations International, the world’s leading authority in destination marketing, and exists to drive economic opportunity, job creation, community sustainability and quality of life for its residents through marketing, promotion and stewardship of the destination’s REAL.FUN.BEACH. brand and attributes, tourism development, special event production, and managing beach re-nourishment and maintenance programs.
Media Contacts:
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Lou Hammond Group Panama City Beach Convention & Visitors Bureau
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