Southview's WiffleFest expects 125 teams for 27th annual tournament

Southview Grace Brethren Church expected 125 teams for WiffleFest XXVII, the Ashland church’s 27th annual tournament, as the three-day event once again filled its grounds at 810 Katherine Ave. in Ashland, Ohio. The turnout marked another step in a run that has turned a backyard-style game into a fixture with staying power far beyond most local summer events.

WiffleFest began in 1999 with 17 teams, then climbed to 88 teams by 2021, a growth line that shows how steadily the tournament has widened without losing its identity. Southview describes the format as simple backyard baseball, with four or five players instead of nine and Wiffle balls instead of baseballs, played on fields built to a 3:10 scale of actual Major League stadiums and lit for night games. The church says rookie and seasoned veteran teams gather from far and wide each year, giving the event a reach that goes well beyond Ashland.

The tournament’s endurance has been built on repetition that players and families can plan around. Elaine Hess has remained a key organizer, and she has said the event is about family, community and making kids feel cared for. Southview also says WiffleFest is part outreach and part witness, a way to connect with the community and share Jesus while keeping the focus on play. In 2024, the 25th annual tournament ran July 4-6 with adult, high school, elementary and middle school divisions spread across about seven or eight fields, showing the scale the event had reached by its silver-anniversary year.

Small details have become part of the draw. Organizers said they began serving chocolate chip cookies to spectators about 10 years before the 2024 tournament, and that same year they sold barbecue for $8 a plate. Those extras sit alongside the bigger pieces that keep WiffleFest moving: the scale-model ballparks, the lighting, the age-group divisions and the steady volunteer work that makes the whole setup function year after year.

Kenny Coffman has umpired WiffleFest for 25 straight years, a streak that underscores how much the tournament depends on continuity as much as competition. Hess was also recognized in 2023 with the Women’s Fund of Ashland County Community Foundation’s Dr. Lucille G. Ford “Freedom from Selfishness” Award, a nod to the kind of community commitment that has helped WiffleFest outlast the usual fade of neighborhood events and keep drawing teams back to Southview every summer.