Zoar UMC marks 40 years of its wiffleball tournament

Zoar UMC Mosquito Fest said its wiffleball tournament will reach 40 years when the festival returns Aug. 7-8 in Zoar, Indiana. The celebration is already built around 30 teams, with the fields set up and the tournament once again serving as one of the weekend’s main draws.

The anniversary matters because the wiffleball event has outlasted the novelty stage that many church or neighborhood tournaments never escape. A 40-year run means repeated volunteer work, steady player interest and enough family buy-in to keep the field active every summer, not just every once in a while.

Zoar Mosquito Fest has long positioned wiffleball as part of a larger festival rather than a standalone bracket. A page description for the event says the first weekend in August brings chicken dinners, a wiffleball tournament, music, homemade ice cream, a country store and more, a mix that helps explain why the game has stayed central for so long. One Zoar Mosquito Fest post from 2019 put it plainly: “Wiffleball is a staple at the Mosquito Fest.”

That kind of language fits the way the tournament has evolved into an institution. The latest Zoar UMC post said, “We are proud to announce that this year marks the 40th year of our Wiffleball Tournament!” That pride is more than ceremonial. It marks a local sporting tradition that has likely passed through multiple generations of players and spectators, while staying rooted in the same summer festival rhythm.

The 30-team field gives the event real scale, and the setup suggests the tournament still draws enough interest to justify the work of preparing the grounds each year. For Zoar United Methodist Church, Mosquito Fest is not simply a calendar item. It is a recurring community gathering in which the wiffleball tournament helps define the weekend, keeps the action on the field, and gives the festival its most enduring sporting identity.