The Best - and Most Special - Weekend in Wiffs
Wiffle ball is a backyard game played by thousands upon thousands of people across the country and around the world. For most of those people, a backyard game is absolutely the correct description, but for one weekend a year, when the best wifflers alive descend upon People’s Bank Park in York, Pennsylvania, what they play is far from the casual game of barbeques and sandlots. On this weekend, at this ballpark, these players compete in the United Wiffle Ball (UWiffs) World Championship Tournament (WCT). No longer is Wiffle ball a backyard game; it has become a breathtaking display of the highest level athletes in a sport only they have truly mastered. And for the next two days, all of this talent will be on full display, all in one place, as these players vie to have their teams crowned the best on the planet.
Often referred to as the “best weekend in wiffs,” the way the players think about and treat the UWiffs WCT only serves to bolster that moniker. There have been tournaments before that were created with the goal of crowning one true champion in the sport. None of these produced the same depth of feeling in the Wiffle ball world that the WCT does. According to Ed Packer, captain of the legendary team C4, and a five-time national champion, the difference with UWiffs is, “the level of professionalism,” and, “the amount of inclusivity, of bringing in different teams from different formats and different leagues. Whereas before there’s always been a little bit of a divide. You could win and still have that up in the air of are you really the best. This brings everybody together and you get that big overall sense of when you win, you’ve won it all.”
Jordan Robles, one of the most recognizable faces in all of Wiffle ball for the past decade, and now an MLW star as well, echoed the same sentiment. “This is truly the first time in my Wiffle ball career where you have the best players from all over the country coming here at the same tournament. With this, we truly have the best teams from all over the world.” UWiffs, in the eyes of the players, lives up to its claim of being united, and the players clearly love it.
The inclusion and unity also took a major step forward in 2022, as for the first time an international team is throwing their hat in the ring. The Wiffle Tigers, a team from Japan, have come to York, making this a full world championship. “I think they’re going to do very well this year. And I think, with the experience they get here, three or four years from now, there are going to be some very, very good teams coming out of Japan,” said Robles about the debut of the Tigers. Packer, whose C4 squad will be the first to face them, called it awesome that this team is now here. “It’s no longer just the United States. The game is branching out internationally. To get to be the first team to play against them, that’s really pretty cool for us.”
The growth is not limited to the playing field either. On Friday night, dozens upon dozens of fans poured into People’s Bank Park to attend the pre-tournament FanFest and watch the official Home Run Derby. The fans, largely drawn in by the massive reach of MLW, had the chance to ask players from that league questions, as well as playing pickup games with them and getting autographs. “It’s huge. We used to play in tournaments where there was absolutely nobody there except for the players. When you get a bunch of people who are watching the game now, it’s like wow there are people who are not even involved in this game who are invested in it. It brings a little bit more passion to it,” was what Packer had to say about the increase in Wiffle fandom over the past few seasons.
Fans were also treated to an excellent Home Run Derby. Robles, the defending champion and clear fan-favorite, failed to reclaim his throne, falling to Grant Miller of Kalamazoo in an electric final round. Most fans stayed to watch the end of this power display, despite the fact that it went until well after sundown.
On the whole, UWiffs WCT promises to be a great event for both players and fans. At the end of the day, everyone is here to enjoy Wiffle ball, and those invested in its world realize how special this event is. Robles put it best: “The name is United Wiffle Ball. To be able to unite everyone in the game for one weekend out of the year, it’s incredible.”
