For several generations, young baseball players have looked forward with great anticipation to the Ray Nelson Invitational Little League tournament in Hailey.
The tournament is truly a "rite of passage," something a player always remembers.
The 34th annual Ray Nelson tournament will be held Friday and Saturday, July 15-16. All games for the 20 teams in two age divisions will be played at Nelson Field in Hailey.
Games begin Friday at 8 a.m., at which time all three Wood River teams in the tournament will play.
Wood River has two teams in the 12-team "Majors" for kids ages 11-12. They are Wood River East coached by Tracey Farrow and WR West coached by Billy Kramer.
Other 11-12 teams in the two-day "Majors" meet are Burley, Buhl, Treasure Valley, the Meridian Knights, Meridian Heat, Fruitland Young Guns, Cincinnati Reds from Boise, Rupert Red, Rupert Rangers and Twin Falls Americans. Championship game is at 2 p.m. Saturday.
Wood River East debuts against Burley Friday at 8 a.m. while Wood River West takes on Rupert Red at the same time at Nelson Field.
Fourth-year tournament director Mike Brunker said it looks like a wide-open tournament field, with the Wood River teams having good opportunities to succeed.
The single Wood River team in the six-team "Minors," for kids ages 9-10 is coached by Brunker. It will be the final tournament of 2005 for the Hailey minor leaguers.
Wood River's 9-10s open Friday at 8 a.m. against Twin Falls Cowboys, with the winner going against Heyburn at 11:30 a.m. Burley and Rupert face off at 9:45 a.m. with the winner playing Meridian Astros later Friday. It's a double elimination format with consolation bracket. Championship game is 1:15 p.m. Saturday.
Friday night's activities include the traditional sloppy joes, corn and watermelon dinner for all Nelson tournament participants and families.
Saturday's Cub Scout breakfast from 7-11 a.m. is always a popular rendezvous for those in the Nelson. Concessions will be available all weekend at busy Nelson Field.
Last year, they played 43 games over two days to settle the issue of Northwest Ada County from Boise winning the championship of the 14-team "Majors" division by 14-4 and 16-4 scores over Buhl. Northwest Ada (8-1) outscored opponents 90-24 at the Nelson.
Wood River North went 3-2 in last year's "Majors," outscoring its foes 56-17, and Wood River South was 3-3.
No Wood River team has won the Nelson since 2000, when Wood River East beat Salmon 12-5. In 2003, Wood River South was second.
In last year's six-team "Minors," the Twin Falls Pioneers won 18-3 over the Twin Falls Cowboys. Wood River's 9-10 year old team went 1-2.
The tournament is named for Ray Nelson, a baseball booster from Hailey who bequeathed a love of the game to family members and friends after he passed away in 1970.
