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The 41^st edition of the Herald Chronicle Softball Tournament is scheduled for June 2-4 at the Winchester City Park with the 2023 version of the tournament set to be the biggest in the event’s lengthy history.

After setting an event record of 72 teams in 2022, Steve Lovvorn, the state adult program director for the Independent Sports Association, said on May 16 that 82 teams had already been registered for the 2023 Chronicle tournament.

“It’s been very hectic in a good way,” Lovvorn said, referring to the busy lead-up to the tournament. “We’ve got more excitement building. I had more teams signing up early this year than any year I can remember.”

The Herald Chronicle Softball Tournament raises money for the Franklin County High School girls basketball team with the funds helping to buy uniforms, equipment and meals for camps and away games during the upcoming 2023-24 school year.

Winchester Recreation Director Darrell Jolley, who is also an assistant coach for the FCHS girls basketball team, said the Chronicle has evolved into one of the biggest gathering places for softball players in the area.

“It’s just the talk of softball, being the best tournament in the state of Tennessee. It’s bigger than most state and world tournaments,” he said. “We’ve had people get engaged at the Herald Chronicle. We’ve had people get married at the Herald Chronicle. It’s just a great scene of not just softball, but people visiting people.

“People that don’t play all the time always play in this tournament. I know a lot of people that I used to play with that have retired from playing, but they always play in this one, mainly just to see old friends.”

The tournament will feature five divisions with a D/C combo bracket, an E-class division, a recreational division, an upper ladies bracket and a lower ladies bracket.

Due to the sheer number of teams eager to sign up, a portion of the games will be played at H.V. Griffin Park in Shelbyville on June 3. All potential elimination games and all games on June 4 will be played in Winchester.

Lovvorn said the decision was made to expand the tournament’s scope to Shelbyville to allow more funds to be raised for the FCHS girls basketball team.

“I like having it as big as we can get it for several reasons, the biggest being to benefit the kids in Franklin County,” Lovvorn said. “We’ve raised many thousands of dollars over the years through this tournament, and this year will probably be the biggest amount we’ve ever raised.”

The field will be fully capped at 85 teams across all five divisions with Lovvorn saying on May 16 that there were still spots available in the upper ladies and D/C divisions while potential teams in other divisions wait to see if their number gets called.

“I’ve got a waiting list for E-class, rec teams and lower ladies. I’ve got a spot left open in the upper women’s and I’ve got a couple spots in the D/C,” he said. “If we don’t get a ladies and a D/C, then I’ll add three more from the waiting list.”

Lovvorn added that spectators can expect to see teams from all over Tennessee as well as neighboring states.

“We’ve got teams coming from both ends of the state and the middle of course. We’ve got teams coming from Alabama and a couple teams coming out of Kentucky this year. It’s truly become a regional tournament, not just a Middle Tennessee tournament,” he said.

For the second year in a row, there will be no parking or entrance fees for spectators, meaning anyone can drive in to catch the action throughout the weekend.

Jolley said that he is hopeful about getting away from recent events at the City Park where a brawl on May 6 at a Tennessee World Sports League softball tournament led to arrests and the suspensions of multiple players.

“I know we’ve had some issues in the past few weeks of some fighting at the ball fields which we’re hoping is going to be cleaned up a little bit more. That usually doesn’t happen at the Chronicle. It’s more of a great, competitive atmosphere, but not ugly,” Jolley said.

Teams wishing to still sign up for the tournament can do so by calling Lovvorn at 931-703-2019. Entry fees are $325 per team with an additional $45 fee if the team is not already sanctioned with the ISA.