The 2021 Tamworth June Long Weekend Carnival was always shaping up to be one of the biggest ever but the final number of team nominations has exceeded all expectations.
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Back in April, the organising committee thought they'd have 52 teams competing. That itself would be the biggest Tamworth carnival ever, coordinator Warren Williams said.
However, more nominations came in and 1000 baseballers will descend on Tamworth this weekend.
"We originally thought we'd have 52 teams, then it went to 54 and then we highlighted another couple teams that would like to come along so it's grown to 56. It's the biggest we could ever put on the park," Williams said.
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It's a welcome return of the carnival - which was abandoned due to COVID-19 in 2020 - that Williams has watched the grow over the years.
Williams organised the first carnival back in 1969 when he was Tamworth Baseball president. It was a fraction of the size of the 2021 edition.
"Two teams," Williams said of how many teams competed in 1969.
"There was a Tamworth rep side and team up from Croydon Park.
"They got here Saturday morning, played the first game after lunch, played another game on Sunday morning and then went back home to Sydney. That was the extent of the start of the carnival."
Not only has Williams seen the number of players grow from 40 to 1000, he's also seen some top talent.
Wade Dutton, Boss Moanaroa, Lachlan Wells and Craig Shipley are just some of the Australian representatives who have taken part in the carnival.
Williams said the amount of quality players that have come to Tamworth speaks volumes of the carnival.
"The prestige of the carnival is just lifted by these players," Williams said.
"Even the CEO of Baseball NSW Mark Marino - he was a pitcher in the states... and he's come to Tamworth to play in our tournament with the Interport Masters."
The organisers are keeping an eye on the weather. If enough rain falls over the coming days some games may need to be shifted to other grounds but the committee has back-ups in place.
The carnival runs from Saturday until Monday.
Ben Jaffrey
Ben is a content curator and journalist for The Land. He has been with ACM since 2015 and first worked at The Area News and then at the Northern Daily Leader. Ben first joined ACM Agri as a digital journalist for all seven agricultural mastheads in 2022 before shifting to The Land full-time in 2023.
Ben is a content curator and journalist for The Land. He has been with ACM since 2015 and first worked at The Area News and then at the Northern Daily Leader. Ben first joined ACM Agri as a digital journalist for all seven agricultural mastheads in 2022 before shifting to The Land full-time in 2023.
