Cape Cod Senior Softball Classic Continues Hitting Record Highs In 2026

HARWICH – Somehow, the Cape Cod Senior Softball Classic just keeps growing.

The already-huge independent invitational tournament, played annually for more than 30 years, hit another record high last week. The 2026 numbers: 72 teams (most ever) totaling approximately 1,200 players from 14 states (as far as Florida) collectively completed about 300 games on six different fields (spanning Yarmouth, Dennis and Harwich) over six days (Sept. 11 to 16) to determine champions in six different age divisions (50s through 80s).

At that scale, the Classic has to be one of the largest yearly sporting events on the Lower Cape, if not the entire region.

“People love coming here,” said tournament director Bob Kemple. “They love playing on these fields. They know they're in the best month of the year here.”

Another number: the seven teams in the 80s bracket were the most the Classic has had. Same goes for the 60s, 70s and 75s divisions, according to Kemple. As players that used to be in the 50s and 60s continue to play while aging up, that trend could continue. 

Kemple said he’s already turning down 50s teams, still feeding the “monster” that has become this tournament.

“You're never going to see that many 80s teams in any tournament in the United States,” Kemple said.

The hundreds of ballplayers did have to dodge raindrops at certain times, but they got the games in. With certain divisions split into smaller brackets (organized, per Kemple’s judgement, by ability — arguably his biggest challenge), 13 teams claimed championships by the conclusion of the Classic on Wednesday of last week (the division-specific brackets, when needed, were named Bourne, Sagamore and Bass River).

The winning teams were: Invaders (50s, Bourne), Magic 55 (50s, Sagamore), Action Auto Parts 60 (60s, Sagamore), Cadence Wealth Management (60s, Bourne), Ryan Amusements (60s, Bass River), Ockers 65 (65s, Sagamore), Fat Nancys (65s, Bourne), Talaga Construction (70s, Sagamore), Richard’s Raiders (70s, Bourne), Boomers (70s, Bass River), Cape Save (75s, Sagamore), Cape Cod Dugout Dawgs (75s, Bourne), and Bostonian 80 (80s).

“We've had probably the most competitive tournament we've had when you look at the scores,” Kemple said. “I mean, it's just been highly competitive, and that means we're doing something right with the divisions.”

With high-level competition can come controversies, of which the tournament has experienced minor patches during its thousands of innings. One player was ejected this year and suspended from play for a day. Another year, a player threatened to kill someone.

Then there’s the rule disputes. Himself a member of the Cape Cod Mariners, Kemple took phone calls — while standing by the foul line coaching third base at Bassett Field — to arbiter debates at other games, as his own team made a run to the finals on the last day of the Classic. 

“There's a massive amount of detail that goes into running this tournament, and it's not the hundreds and hundreds and thousands of phone calls I handle about this, that and the other thing,” he said. “It's the rules.”

More local Cape teams than ever also entered this year’s tournament. And the Classic’s volunteers are all affiliated with the Cape Cod Senior Softball League. Kemple said the group of volunteers “is what makes this tournament so special.”

Only the umpires, of which five had to be brought in from Rhode Island to fill out all the games, are paid.

“The reputation of this tournament is sky-high right now, and again, it's due to the volunteers and the people I have working it and stuff,” Kemple said. “They just do a tremendous job.”

Kemple, who’s organized the Classic for a long time, is ready to turn over the full-time duties to a protégé who had been helping him this year, he said. 

Two years ago, Kemple suffered cardiac arrest and was on a ventilator at Cape Cod Hospital. What he had, most people don’t live through. He essentially temporarily died — and lost some of his memory. He said then he was done as the Classic organizer, yet still he was soon back putting the event together.

As he retold the health scare last week at Bassett Field, an opposing player — whose team had moments prior defeated Kemple’s in the playoffs — walked by, his softball equipment in tow, to express a job well done on the tournament, and how he really enjoyed it.

“This is what we’ve got though,” Kemple said. “People love the tournament…I've been blessed to run this tournament, and I'll always be involved. I'll help out.”

Just the 75s and 80s divisions were left to finish play after the 70s brackets wrapped on the competition’s final day. Close to a week of games completed by a pool of players numbering nearly three-quarters the year-round population of Truro. Another Cape Cod Senior Softball Classic down.

Those 80s teams, above anything, are a tribute to the draw of the Cape Cod Senior Softball Classic. Kemple smiles every time he thinks about the record seven 80s squads in the tournament. Some of the players are in their 90s, still hitting and running the bases.

“What's really cool about the 80s is to see the spouses cheering on these old men,” he said. “Frankly, they're the most active and fired-up crowd.”