SALEM, Va. – The Chance Crawford Benefit Softball Tournament is back this weekend as 200 teams from eight states will be taking the field and competing for a variety of championships.
Friday’s slate of games was played with a side of rain. Despite the muddy conditions, players still took the field.
“We can’t stress over the things we can’t control, and we couldn’t control the weather,” Todd Bryant, coach of the Lynchburg OvertheHillcats, said. “So we just say, come out here, don’t get hurt, and have fun.”
The tournament began back in 1981 to help Chance Crawford, who was then a quarterback for Salem High School. During a game, Chance suffered a spinal cord injury. The injury kickstarted the tournament, the original purpose of which was to raise money to help Chance and his family with the expenses of his education, physical therapy, and other medical needs due to his injury.
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Today, the tournament lives on to benefit people with health problems and college students who need financial assistance.
“We started putting the money back into the community, helping other people that need assistance and medical assistance,” John Shaner, Salem director of Parks and Recreation, said. “We also hand out high school scholarships and need based scholarships. Over the last 44 years, we’ve given out over a million dollars in benefits.”
Local economies get a nice boost with the influx of players, coaches, umpires and officials.
“We’re putting people in hotels, they’re eating in our restaurants, they’re going to Kroger’s,” Shaner said. “They’re spending a lot of money.”
Most importantly though, memories will be made no matter what the weather looks like.
“I actually got to play with my son today, so that was great,” Braynt said. “My grandkids, that was the first time my grandkids got to see me play softball. I’ve watched them play, so now they got to see Papa play.”
The tournament will be played from April 11-13 and will be played at 21 fields throughout the Blue Ridge region, including the newly renovated Moyer Sports Complex in Salem.
