Joe Kemmerer, president of the Emmaus Youth Association, wanted a new and fun way to help raise money for the organization and the youth. He played in a Wiffle ball tournament a few years back that had the same motive.

What a great idea as Kemmerer found it to be. He planned and helped organize a Wiffle ball tournament open to all ages that has been a success the last few years and continues going.

The latest tournament was played Aug. 18 and drew 36 teams and about 125 players in a double-elimination style format. Each team carried three to four players as it was a 3-on-3 event. There was also a large crowd of spectators that came to watch, according to Kemmerer.

And why not? It is for a good cause.

“The main reason for the tournament is to raise money for the Emmaus Youth Association,” Kemmerer said. “I got the idea after playing in a Wiffle ball tournament in a different area and realized we had the space and means to do something similar.

“The money raised from this year’s event is going to go toward our pole building project which is going to be a facility for our players to use for indoor practices year round.”

In its third year running, the event now began allowing kids as young as 16 years old to play, whereas the first two years it was limited to just adults.

Allowing more ages to compete also broadened the outreach and areas the event brought people in from.

“While there were many people from the East Penn School District area, we also drew people from as far away as Stroudsburg,” Kemmerer said.

“The name of the team that won the tournament is the Warriors. They are back-to-back champs having won our tournament in 2023 as well.”

Kemmerer started something that has been a success for the past three years and looks to continue to help EYA for years to come.