Pfc. Jonathan Chavez, Charlie Company, Special Troops Battalion, tags a runner out at second base during the "Lone Star Double Play" softball tournament held in July on Camp Victory's ball field. Photo by Spc. Amburr Reese, 114th Public Affairs Detachment.

Since 2004, the Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) department here has been supporting one of America's favorite pastimes by holding twice-monthly softball tournaments from May through September.

All tournaments are sponsored by companies from the United States. The most recent tournament was sponsored by "Lone Star Double Play Softball" located in Austin, Texas.

"I was excited to find out they had sports here, it was something I was worried about," said Spc. Jesse 'Atlas' Harrison, Special Troops Battalion.  "I grew up playing team sports. When our unit found out MWR had organized sports we talked to our platoon leader and he helped us organize the team."

Teams for the tourneys can be organized among servicemembers and sign up at MWR 51 as a group, or if an individual is interested they can sign up with MWR and will be placed on a team in need of players.

During the tournaments, teams compete against one another and are slowly removed using a double-elimination rule, meaning if a team loses twice they are out the competition. At the end of the two-week tourney a final game is played to determine the winner and the champions receive prizes that have been donated by the game's sponsors.

Throughout the season MWR tracks the statistics of players using score sheets from games played. These stats are then used to put together an all-star team that plays against other all-star teams here.