Event Preview: Scenic City Summer Club Tournament Features 300+ Teams… & Probably That Many College Coaches Too!
By
@BruntjensElla
June 22, 2021
Fury Platinum 18U, winners of the Scenic City 2020 Summer tournament.
It’s Summertime and the softball travel world is on the road attending top events nationwide.
One of the most oldest and most reputable club events over the summer is the Scenic City Summer tournant that will take place this Thursday through Sunday (June 24-27, 2021) in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Extra Inning Softball will have coverage of the event throughout the weekend and to preview the big tournament, we caught up this week with Jen Carden, the Director of Communications for Connect Sports, which produces the tournament, to find out more on Scenic City and how it’s evolved into a highly coveted place to be for elite teams…
*****
Tell us about Scenic City and how it has grown in size over time…
This is the 14th year for Connect Sports’ Scenic City Summer and Fall events. Fourteen years ago, the Summer event had 55 teams and the Fall event had 40 teams and last Fall (2020) we had 420 teams this week’s summer event will have over 340 teams!
That’s an impressive number of teams competing! That must draw in a large number of college coaches to evaluate the talent, too.
Yes, in the summer of 2019 Scenic City Summer attracted over 275 college coaches and, last Fall, Scenic City Fall had over 320 college coaches.
Why do you think Scenic City has become one of the key stops on the summer tour for so many teams?
We have so many major metro areas and colleges within a seven hour drive which helps us attract close to or more than 300 college coaches to our event.
I’ll also let Jeremy Higdon, who is the Director of Connect Sports Events and also oversees the Fury Fastpitch & Fury Platinum travel organizations share his thoughts:
Jeremy Higdon
“The success of Scenic City is driven by club directors and coaches continuing to support our events. In some cases, we have coaches that have literally been to Scenic City every year. I couldn’t be more grateful for the continued support of our events. It was never more evident than last year, when Scenic City summer did not happen on our regular, early June date. We felt this community embrace us, support us, and participate in the largest Scenic City ever in November 2020.”
“I also can’t say enough about our wonderful city and the surrounding municipalities. Not only is our city a great attraction as a destination, Chattanooga and surrounding municipalities in North Georgia really invest in their softball complexes. The local businesses rally to support the events by providing food for our college coaches and umpires, our sports tourism division is here for any support we need. Can’t say enough about this city and its surrounding areas.”
Who are some of the top teams to watch this year?
East Cobb Bullets took home the 16U title last Summer.
Here’s a list of just some of the many we look forward to seeing this week:
AP Gold 18U Locke
Caroline Elite Genovese
TN Mojo 04 – Carter
Fury Platinum Silver 18U
Indiana Fusion Elite Premier – Unruh
EC Bullets – Hecklinski
GA Impact 05 – Lewis
GA Impact 2021/22 – Ryman
GA Impact Townsend/Jeffreys
TN Mojo 2022/23 Henson
Ohio Haws Lenos
GA Power – Tunon
AP Gold – Barfield/Bird
GA Impact Janney
Fury Platinum – Polk
LLG Maguire/Corn
Louisville Lady Sluggers – Murphy
Premier Fastpitch Paulson
Fury Premier – Moyer/Perry
With so many teams, how do you manage the format and facilities to maximize exposure for the players and teams?
We have over 40 fields this summer within 25 minutes driving radius of one another. It makes it easy for coaches see a lot of teams and players over four days.
The Summit of Softball Complex is one the several that will field teams this weekend at Scenic City.
How about college attendance? Are there some major universities across the country who regularly show up?
Yes, we have many who attend, here’s some of the Power 5 ones, for example, we’ve regularly seen at Scenic City:
Washington
Oregon
Arizona State
Florida
Alabama
Auburn
Florida State
Tennessee
LSU
Georgia
Kentucky
Michigan
Minnesota
Arkansas
Missouri
Ole Miss
Ruby Falls has the nation’s tallest and deepest underground waterfall.
What are some fun things to do in the area when players and their families are enjoying down time?
Our top attractions are Rock City, Ruby Falls, the Chattanooga Aquarium and the Chattanooga Zoo; VisitChattanooga.comhas the largest list of eateries, attractions, and activities going on in Chattanooga.
What is the format for this week’s event?
There is a six-game guarantee with Sunday being Championship play for pool winners. Also, the 2021 Scenic City Summer event is an Alliance=approved event in which Alliance League teams will earn points for their games
— Brentt Eads, Extra Inning Softball
Get access to even more Extra Inning Softball content!
That’s an impressive number of teams competing! That must draw in a large number of college coaches to evaluate the talent, too.
