Arizona Western College will host junior college softball championships in Yuma for the next two years.
AWC and city officials on Wednesday announced they will host the National Junior College Athletic Association Division I Softball Championship in Yuma in May of 2021 and 2022.
The tournament will bring 16 teams from across the country, including a district representative from Arizona, to the Pacific Avenue Athletic Complex.
“It’s a red letter day for us to bring this championship to Yuma for the next two years, ’21 and ’22, where 16 of the very best teams in the country will be coming in to our community to spend four to five days, most of them with quite a crowd,” said Jerry Smith, the Matadors’ athletic director.
City officials say such tournaments generate local spending, which supports businesses including hotels and restaurants.
Speaking Wednesday on his weekly Facebook Live update, AWC President Dr. Daniel Corr lauded the AWC team effort made to be chosen as the National Championship host site.
"This is an amazing coup for Yuma," Corr said. "We'll be able to highlight all that Yuma has to offer and it is a compliment to the great work of Tim Slack and Jerry Smith and Brian Doak who pulled together just an extraordinary plan to bring that tournament to Yuma."
AWC and the City of Yuma worked with partners the Caballeros de Yuma, Visit Yuma and the Yuma International Airport to secure the National Championship event.