Event Spotlight: Champions Elite Summer Showcase in Georgia This Weekend Features Over 100 Top Teams from 10 States

The Peach State is the host state this weekend for many of the elite teams in the South and as far away as New York and Missouri as the Champions Elite Summer Showcase kicked off Thursday night and runs through Sunday evening.

Over 100 top teams in the ages of 12U through 18U will competing in three parks in Georgia: in Acworth, Canton and Woodstock.

• Click HERE to go to the event website
• Click HERE to follow this weekend’s schedule

We caught up with Leigh A. Prickett, one of the leads of the Champions Fastpitch Academy and Champions Elite Showcase Events, to get her thoughts on the star-studded event this weekend… here’s our Q&A with her…

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Talk about the history of the summer showcase and how it’s evolved over time…
In 2005, Champions Fastpitch Academy founder and owner, Stacy Tamborra, started creating and running Elite level showcase camps, clinics, and tournaments. Over the past 15 years, the events have grown to become some of the most highly sought-after events in the country with the goal in mind to build showcase and exposure events with excellence and to create elite level opportunities and exposure for teams and individual athletes.

Over time, we’ve grown from hosting this event with 23 local teams that wanted to get games in to now having over 125 teams annually along with 80 or more college coaches!

What makes this event one that teams must go to, in your opinion?
Champions Elite Showcase Tournaments boast creative formats which encourage competition while also providing teams and individuals college exposure and recruiting opportunities.

Our events have provided exposure and tournament opportunities which have resulted in countless college scholarships over the years.

In the past, the 18U division especially has been loaded with some of the best teams in the age division including Greg Schnute’s EC Bullets, Jason Holbrook’s Atlanta Vipers, and Patrick Lewis’ Georgia Impact teams, but this year our event will include some of the most talented and competitive 16U (2023 class) teams in the country as well.

There are a lot of Power 5 kids are playing in the event!

Who are some of the top teams to watch this weekend at Champions Elite?
You have Stacy’s Atlanta Vipers 05 and 07 teams which are highly ranked by Extra Inning Softball as well as other top Viper teams including the Holbrook and Billings squads. There are other top Georgia-based teams as well including the Georgia Impact 05 – Lewis, GA Power gold – Berkhiser/Pisciotta and GA Power – Tunon teams to name a few.

In the region you have Fury Premier 07, TN Fury 2022 Moyer and Mojo – Lunsford and further away you have Texas Glory 06 and American Freedom Gold from Colorado and there are many more who should impress!

What about event, such as format, facilities or other aspects, do you feel makes it so attractive to attend?
This year we are offering 5 or 6 game guarantee options to teams and have the pool and all games are seven innings. The bracket finalists play for cash prizes and the games will be played in beautiful Woodstock, Georgia. •  We have great parks, staff, format, and teams that make this event a ‘Can’t Miss” event for your 2021 summer season.

We also had a College Showcase Camp the last two days that hosted players from ages 12-18 with many college coaches at the even—there is no better way to see that many coaches and showcase your skills in two days! We were super excited about our 2021 camp, since we were unable to host it last summer during the height of the COVID pandemic and the NCAA extended dead period.

You mentioned last summer… how did it go last year with COVID, were you able to get the events in?
Thankfully we were able to host both our Summer and Fall 2020 events. In the Summer,  we invested a great deal into high definition cameras and equipment to ensure we maximized exposure for every athlete who attended and played in the events. Through games and virtual skills combines at each event, Champions did their part to make sure that the 2020 season does not go to waste.

Still, it was a different atmosphere without a lot of college coaches running around the park, but one unique thing about last year: our Summer 2020 event was the pioneering, first college showcase for the then new AthletesGoLive live streaming format.

Despite the pandemic last year, she still hosted 115 teams and in the Fall had 105 teams. We really appreciated the note from the Carolina Elite 16U National team last year when they wrote us saying,

“What a fun weekend on the field at the Champions Elite Summer Showcase with our Elite family! Lots of good reps, good competition, opportunities to learn and improve, and a ton of fun!”

Happy that the event is back at full speed this year… one of your advantages is that Champions Elite is in a very convenient area for travel and there are many fun things to do things away from the fields… what do families do when they’re not at the games?
There are many things to do to keep active, here’s a list of just some of them:

• Atlanta Braves base at The Battery/Truist Park
• Six Flags Over Georgia (theme Park)
• Six Flags White Water (water Park)
• Georgia Aquarium
• Marietta Square
• downtown Woodstock, Georgia

Finally, you’ve had a LOT of talent come through over the years, who are some of them that come to mind?
Wow, there’s so many of them… many have gone on to play at the collegiate and even international levels.

A few off the top of my head are Kelly Barnhill, who played for Florida and the USA National Team; Kara Bilodeau (Florida State, Canadian Junior National Team); Kelly Lynch (Washington, USA Junior Olympic Team) and Kassidy Krupit (South Carolina, USA Junior National Team).

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Here’s the list of teams playing in the 2021 Champions Elite Summer Showcase (sorted by age)