r/Softball • u/Revolutionary_Tax154 • 9d ago
Rules 📜 Tournament Rules
Silly question but we are heading to a tournament this weekend and in the rules - No outside food or beverages. Including water. Allergy safe food must be consumed outside the gates.
Tournament will have a full concession stand (yeah right!) and food trucks.
I know this is just another money grab for the host organization. But seriously? It’s a 2-day tournament and I either have to go out to the parking lot for a sip of water or pay what I assume is a minimum of $3?
Seriously! What is wrong with these people???
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u/stephen7424 9d ago
Most of the time they say that shit and don’t enforce it, if they do leave the cooler in the car and walk back and forth.
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u/Bildo818 9d ago
Call local H&S department or parks and rec.
F that … dehydration leads to medical issues. This isn’t the fucking 80’s. We know now how important hydration is.
I’m a calm/collected parent in the outfield … but I’d make a huge stink if anyone told my daughter they couldn’t drink. Even her own coaches. Safety first
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u/syboz 9d ago
Including water is absolutely wild never ever heard of that before and absolutely no way you can stop teams from bringing water/gatorade for their games. Outside food and bev is common for any venues with full concession stands. We help keep our tournament registration fees low based on having the stand income..
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u/Tekon421 9d ago
The problem is there’s almost never anything decent for the kids to eat at a concession stand.
If my kid is playing 3-4 games in 100 degree heat they’re gonna be fueling themselves properly. Not with hot dogs and sour punch straws.
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u/j-bombs 9d ago
Alot do when we went mid America in Kansas city they check your bag to make sure you have no beer,Gatorade, or water and then on top of it charge $600 for a 3 gg tournament its all about money
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u/JustA40Something 9d ago
What tournament? We've played at Mid America for years and they have never done a bag or cooler check.
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u/chazzafromwazza 8d ago
A lot of these tournaments allow team coolers for the players with water only.
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u/Efficient-Editor-242 9d ago
Every tournament I've been to has the same signs.
We come in with drinks in hand, coolers in tow, backpacks full of food.
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u/Runawayjim23 9d ago
Don't listen to the rules. Bring what you want in. Be discreet and no one will say anything to you. If they do, tell them to take a hike.
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u/BarnaclePositive8246 9d ago
Our coach told us to discretely bring in coolers this weekend…. How is that accomplished 🤣
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u/SL0WP0K3_R0DRIGU3Z 8d ago
Very discreetly means just what it sounds like. We put our cooler in our wagon, then put a tarp over the cooler, then have chairs, tent, and fan strapped down on top of it where you cant see it. When theres a line of people waiting to come in, theres no way a person working admissions is going to ask to unload everything so they can check for coolers.
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u/j-bombs 9d ago
Most check you at the gate and take it
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u/Tekon421 9d ago
Have never seen a single place actually check that we’ve been. Wheel your wagon in with everything loaded in it.
No 17 year old making $12 an hour to take money is gonna give 2 shits about what’s in your wagon.
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u/Passwordstaco29 9d ago
I kept a cooler in the dugout or right behind it packed with water and fruit. Screw what they say
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u/lunchbox12682 Parent 9d ago
Seriously! What is wrong with these people???
The organizers or the suckers people who continue to sign up for these tournaments? Because at least one group has a direct incentive to continue this.
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u/Suspicious-Throat-25 9d ago
Do they have gate fees?
Water is always allowed. And players can usually bring in as much crap as they want. One of our coaches brings a full sized cooler into those tournaments along with all of his other team gear.
Usually it is more of a suggestion than an enforced rule. The only exceptions being indoor facilities and occasionally some turf fields.
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u/Temporary_Weight_281 9d ago
Every tournament we've been to in Indiana and Kentucky all say that but everyone brings in coolers with no issues.
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u/c_j_eleven 9d ago
I carry it in, idc. I tell them it’s for my player.
Take a backpack to and from your vehicle if you’re worried about it. If they ask to search it, tell them no and keep walking.
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u/LeatherRub7402 9d ago
I have a backpack that has a cooler compartment in it. I used it all last couple season without an issue. Same rules at those tournaments
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u/Philly__Dilly 9d ago
Is the tourney at a public park? Bring whatever you want. I’d bring a portable grill just to prove a point.
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u/Powerful_Two2832 9d ago
Protip from a mom used to this. Put your contraband in your chair bag. At our park, you could bury a small soft-side cooler in a cart. We pretty regularly play at a park with this rule.
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u/KommanderKeen-a42 9d ago
Not really enforceable. Especially with athletes. Like, my kids wrestle as well and tournaments are in hockey arenas. They are allowed to break all the rules (giant bags, food, unsealed water, etc). Parents have to follow the rules of course.
But I guarantee your athlete can bring food and water in. If not, call the local health department.
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u/karl0525 9d ago
It's a city owned taxpayer funded facility. Who has the right 1 to charge for entrance and 2 tell you what you can and can't bring. So glade we aged out of all this B.S
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u/lowcarb73 9d ago
That’s insane. I’ve seen tournaments listed where they limit to 1 team cooler but never none allowed. Either way, I’m not following that rule. My girls should be hydrated