DOTHAN, Ala. (WDNews) – School pride, community support and strong competition came together this week at the City of Dothan’s annual Diamond Classic.
The city presented $54,400 in checks to participating schools, marking another milestone in a tournament designed not only for high-level play, but to give back to underfunded sports programs.
City officials, tournament sponsors, and school representatives gathered for a celebratory breakfast and check presentation. Mayor Mark Saliba opened the event by thanking the teams and coaches.
“I think this year, it’s $54 [thousand], ” Mayor Saliba said. “That’s an awesome thing, but you participating in the tournament is what makes it happen as well.”
The event also featured remarks from Billy Powell, Director of Leisure Services, who credited the tournament’s success to staff, sponsors, and the leadership of tournament director Kenny Thompson.
“We believe in what we can do to provide quality of life not only to our teams but to our youth and community,” Powell said.
Thompson, who helped found the tournament in 2019, emphasized the event’s original goals:
“I said we wanted to do two things—we wanted to give y’all money and we wanted to put on an incredible tournament,” Thompson said.
This year, he said, 15 of the 20 teams in the tournament have advanced to regional competition, highlighting the strength of the teams involved.
Tournament proceeds came from gate sales, concessions and generous sponsors.
Each school’s payout was based on the number of games played:
- One game: $1,360
- Two games: $2,720
- Final Four teams: $5,440 each
The four semifinalists this year were G.W. Long, Providence Christian, Rehobeth and Wicksburg.
The tournament ended with Wicksburg claiming the championship.
“As the father of kids that participated in alternate sports, I understand the struggles that they go through,” Thompson said in regards to the softball teams. “So that does mean something to me personally that we were able to give this money back.”
In closing, coaches thanked the city and sponsors for their investment in student-athletes.
“It’s really big for our girls to get this money to put back into our program,” Enterprise softball coach and former Troy University Softball player, Mary “Kate” Stump, said in appreciation.
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