MIDDLETOWN, CONN., July 23, 2021With Summer in full swing and Connecticut open for business, Greater Hartford is getting ready for one of the nation’s most successful girls’ fastpitch softball tournaments This Tuesday, July 27 through Saturday, July 31, the 2021 PlayFPN Summer Nationals for 10U, 12U, 12UB, 14U, and 14UB divisions will take place at Fastpitch Nation Park in Windsor, Conn., the largest dedicated fastpitch softball complex in the Northeast U.S. One day earlier, on Monday, July 26, the Opening Ceremony and Parade of Athletes will take place at Quassy Amusement and Waterpark in Middlebury, Conn.

“Our 2021 tournament will welcome more than 800 players – comprising 68 teams – from Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland and West Virginia, as well as teams from across Connecticut,” explains Tournament Director and Host David Rocha, Owner & General Manager of Fastpitch Nation Park in Windsor, Fastpitch Nation Indoor training facility in Bloomfield, and Owner of the PlayFPN Tournament Network that manages this tournament. “In addition, 1,000 more family, friends, tournament officials and staff are expected.Rocha built and opened the 11-field Fastpitch Nation Park in 2019 to accommodate the growing numbers of athletes who want to compete in fastpitch softball tournaments. 

“We congratulate David Rocha, and his Fastpitch Nation Network for building participation and attendance at this popular tournament, especially during the past year and a half,” says Robert Murdock, President of the Connecticut Convention & Sports Bureau (CTCSB). The Middletown, Conn.-based CTCSB is the State of Connecticut’s only statewide sales and marketing organization for meetings, conventions, and sports events. “This tournament alone is expected to generate more than $1.8 Million in spending for the Greater Hartford region. The CTCSB manages the tournament’s hotel reservation process and has booked nearly 2,065 overnight room nights at 12 hotels in Avon, Windsor, Hartford, East Hartford, Windsor Locks, Manchester, Newington, Glastonbury, Rocky Hill, Vernon, and Farmington,” notes Murdock. Spending by visitors at local restaurants, attractions and hotels during the tournament will support more than 340 tourism-related jobs, and will result in over $70,000 in tax revenue for the State. 

►On Monday, July 26 at 12 p.m., the Championship’s Opening ceremony and parade of athletes will take place at Quassy Amusement and Waterpark at 2132 Middlebury Road in Middlebury, Conn. The event will feature welcomes from both Tournament Director David Rocha and from Robert Murdock, President of the Connecticut Convention & Sports Bureau (CTCSB). 

►On Tuesday, July 27 at 8 a.m., the first of five days of tournament play will begin at Rocha’s 21-acre Fastpitch Nation Park at 1001 Day Hill Road in Windsor, Conn. that opened in April 2019

“Our PlayFPN Summer Nationals tournament will feature some of the best fastpitch umpires from all the Northeast,” adds Rocha. “Teams will face off, first in pool play, then in double elimination for the championship. Trophies will be given to the top four teams in each division, and an award will be given the Most Valuable Player in each division.”

Rocha’s state-of-the-art Fastpitch Nation Park complex features 11 regulation fully fenced fastpitch fields and a 3,200-sq.-ft. barn-like building (to complement the surrounding countryside) for retail, storage, and real bathrooms. Designed with weather-resilient red Alabama shale infields, natural turf outfields and 100-foot-wide panoramic netted backstops for the best spectator viewing. Other amenities include ample paved parking, LED scoreboards, spacious covered dugouts, more than two acres of team warm-up space, an outdoor food court and live internet streaming of all games played.

For Tournament game schedule and more information, go to https://playfpn.com

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